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What is the meaning and origin of `damp squib'?

(S. Santhanam, Chennai)

When your favourite film star's movie is released, you go to the theatre with great expectations. You think that the film is going to be great, and you are going to have a wonderful time. Sometimes, the film doesn't meet your expectations, and you feel a sense of disappointment; you feel terribly let down. In such a context, you can say that the movie was a damp squib — in other words, it failed to live up to your expectations.

*For the majority of Indians, the World Cup turned out to be a damp squib.

We all know what damp means — it means `wet'. A `squib' is a firecracker. We know from experience that when a damp firecracker is lit, it will not explode. How do we feel when it doesn't? Terribly disappointed.

S. UPENDRAN

upendrankye@gmail.com

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