flash in the pan {n. phr.}, {slang}
A person or thing that starts out well but does not continue.
The new quarterback was a flash in the pan.
Mary got 100 on the first test in arithmetic but it was just a flash in the pan because she failed in arithmetic. Categories: noun slang
Latest discussions :: flash in the panLinda 2008-09-02 09:38:53
I'd always thought this phrase related to gold panning: a prospector, thinking he'd seen gold dust in the pan, looking more closely discovered it was just a "flash" (of light), not gold. The phrase came to be used to describe something that seemed at first very exciting, but turned out disappointing. Reply