English Dictionary

damp squib

noun

(literally) A firework that has been wet and therefore fails to go off correctly. / (idiomatic, by extension) Anything that doesn’t work properly, or fails to come up to expectations; a dud.

The party was a damp squib.

意味（1）

(literally) A firework that has been wet and therefore fails to go off correctly.

意味（2）

(idiomatic, by extension) Anything that doesn’t work properly, or fails to come up to expectations; a dud.

The anonymous oracle, the author of this pamphlet, is an example of entertaining dullness. He has manufactured a very damp squib; he is a serious man in motley; and practical ideas occasionally drop in among his fantastic vaticinations.