fizzle

English

WOTD – 10 August 2009

Etymology

Attested in English since 1525-35. From earlier fysel (“to fart”). Related to fīsa (“to fart”). Compare with Swedish fisa (“to fart (silently)”). See also feist.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɪzəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

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• Rhymes: -ɪzəl

Verb

fizzle (third-person singular simple present fizzles, present participle fizzling, simple past and past participle fizzled)

1. To sputter or hiss.

   The soda fizzled for several minutes after it was poured.

   • Template:RQ:Jonson The Devil Is an Ass

     It is the easest thing, sir, to be done, / As plain as fizzling.

2. (figuratively) To decay or die off to nothing; to burn out; to end less successfully than previously hoped.

   The entire project fizzled after the founder quit.
3. (military, of a nuclear weapon) To fail to generate the expected yield when exploded during testing.

   The shot fizzled, generating only 200 tons rather than the 30 kilotons they were aiming for.

Derived terms

• fizzler

Translations

to splutter or hiss

• Armenian: թեթև ֆշշալ (tʻetʻew fššal), թշշալ (hy) (tʻššal)
• Bulgarian: шипя (šipja)
• Danish: bruse
• Finnish: pihistä
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: zischen (de)
• Russian: шипе́ть (ru) (šipétʹ)
• Swedish: fräsa (sv), pysa (sv)

to decay or die off to nothing

• Bulgarian: провалям се (provaljam se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 失败 (zh) (shībài), （计划）流产

• Danish: ebbe ud
• Finnish: kuivua kokoon (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: im Sande verlaufen (de), totlaufen, zu nichts führen, fehlschlagen (de), missglücken (de)
• Polish: spalić na panewce (pl)
• Russian: потерпеть фиа́ско (poterpetʹ fiásko), выдохнуться (ru) pf (vydoxnutʹsja)
• Spanish: fundir (es), apagar (es), menguar (es)
• Swedish: ebba ut (sv), gå i stöpet (sv)

Noun

fizzle (plural fizzles)

1. A spluttering or hissing sound.
2. (military) Failure of an exploding nuclear bomb to meet its expected yield during testing.
3. An abortive effort; a flop or dud.
4. A state of agitation or worry.

Usage notes

In the context of nuclear testing, a fizzle (an explosion with inadequate yield) is distinguished from a dud (a failure to explode at all).

Translations

spluttering or hissing sound

• Armenian: թեթև ֆշշոց (tʻetʻew fššocʻ)
• Bulgarian: шипене (šipene)
• Danish: brusen c
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: pihinä
• Russian: шипение (ru) n (šipenije)
• Swedish: fräsande (sv), pysande (sv)

Related terms

• fizz
• fizzy