wet firecracker
noun1
Idiomatic, Informal A person, event, or object lacking liveliness or failing to generate excitement, especially when there was a prior expectation of liveliness or excitement.
- Coming after a fast, colorful movie like Super Fly, a follow-up called Super Fly TNT is a wet firecracker.1973 June 16, “Movie Review: Super Fly TNT Continues With His Adventures in Rome and Africa”, in New York Times, retrieved 16 Oct 2017:
- After Bernanke's first semiannual testimony before Congress in February, I wrote to my clients that his appearance was essentially a wet firecracker—he did not jolt the markets.2006 June 18, Richard Yamarone, “Confusion From the Fed Head”, in Washington Post, retrieved 16 Oct 2017:
1 more example
- [A]udiences sensibly enough found Lollobrigida and Sinatra to be a wet firecracker of a team.2009, Tom Santopietro, Sinatra in Hollywood: The Film Career of a Screen Icon, →ISBN:
- Synonyms
- dud, damp squib
- Related terms
- false dawn, wet noodle