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success |
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success [səkˈsɛs] n 1. the favourable outcome of something attempted 2. the attainment of wealth, fame, etc. 3. an action, performance, etc., that is characterized by success 4. a person or thing that is successful 5. Obsolete any outcome [from Latin successus an outcome, from succēdere to succeed] successless adj Success/Failure See Also: BUSINESS; GROWTH; PAST, THE
Success (See also VICTORY.) bring down the house To elicit a vigorous and lengthy ovation from an audience; to be a smash or great success; sometimes bring down the gallery. The image created by this expression, in which house means ‘theater’ or ‘playhouse,’ is one of such loud, sustained applause as to bring about the collapse of the building. The phrase was in use as early as 1754. have the last laugh To prove ultimately successful after an apparent defeat; to avenge. The idea of having the last laugh is fairly literal, i.e., though others may laugh now, the butt of their humor will laugh later when, in the final analysis, he is victorious. This phrase was popularized in the 1937 song “They All Laughed,”by George and Ira Gershwin: They all laughed at us and how! Related expressions are he who laughs last laughs best, and he laughs best that laughs last. The latter appeared in The Mistake (1706) by Sir John Vanbrugh. hit the jackpot See GOOD LUCK. land on one’s feet To achieve success despite predictable loss; to extricate one-self from a potentially dangerous situation; to escape failure narrowly. This popular expression usually appears in a context implying that the one who “lands on his feet” does so through undeserved luck; he repeatedly gets himself into scrapes but somehow survives. It is apparently based on the notion that one plummeting downward is unlikely to land safely, let alone feet first. pan out To succeed; to yield results, especially favorable ones; to occur. This expression alludes to panning for gold, a method of prospecting in which a shallow pan is used to scoop a small amount of gravel and sand from a stream. Any gold present settles to the bottom of the pan as the gravel and sand are washed away. Pan out, then, originally indicated a successful prospecting venture. As the California gold rush that spawned this expression began to subside, pan out became more figurative, and has remained in widespread usage since the late 19th century. Socialism … may pan out as a new kind of religion. (Sinclair Lewis, Our Mr. Wrenn, 1914) pay dirt Any desired result or goal, especially one related to wealth or success; a fortunate discovery. Literally, pay dirt is a mining term that refers to an area of land that contains enough valuable metals or other resources to merit excavation. After its introduction in the 1870s, pay dirt soon became more figurative, commonly being applied to any success. I didn’t hit pay dirt until near the bottom of the second box of discarded telephone directories. (John Evans, Halo in Blood, 1946) In recent years, pay dirt has been used frequently to describe the end zone (goal area) of a football field. ring the bell To succeed, to make a hit; to be the best. The bell of this expression may be that attached to the strength-testing machine at carnivals which rings when a player is successful. Or it may be the bell in target shooting that rings when the bull’s-eye is hit. strike oil To have good luck or success, especially financial; to discover a source of potential personal aggrandizement; to strike it rich; to hit pay dirt. This expression alludes to oil as an entity which inevitably leads to wealth and success, a concept strengthened in recent years by the increasing prominence of Middle East oil barons. Though still used literally to describe the locating of underground oil, strike oil is commonly applied figuratively in contexts directly or indirectly related to money or other personal good fortune. He has certainly “struck oil” in the Costa Rica and Honduras loans. {Punch, March 6, 1875) turn up trumps To turn out successfully, to come out better than expected, to turn out well or fine; to be lucky, to land on one’s feet. Instances … of short courtships and speedy marriages, which have turned up trumps—I beg your pardon—which have turned out well, after all. (Wilkie Collins, No Name, 1862) The allusion is to drawing or playing a winning trump card. See trump card, PLOY. with flying colors Victoriously, triumphantly, successfully; handily, easily; superbly, in extraordinary fashion. This phrase, usually in expressions such as come off with flying colors and come out of it with flying colors, alludes to a triumphant fleet of ships sailing into home port with their colors (i.e., flags) proudly displayed on the mastheads. Used figuratively, with flying colors often implies that one has not only survived a potentially precarious predicament but has been victorious to boot. success
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success noun 1. victory, triumph, positive result, favourable outcome, successfulness the success of European business in building a stronger partnership victory failure, collapse, disaster, misfortune, downfall 2. prosperity, riches, fortune, luck, wealth, fame, eminence, ascendancy, affluence, opulence Nearly all of them believed work was the key to success. 3. hit (informal), winner, smash (informal), triumph, belter (slang), sensation, sell-out, wow (slang), best seller, market leader, smash hit (informal), box office success We hope it will be a commercial success. hit flop (informal), fiasco, washout, clunker (informal), dead duck (slang) 4. big name, star, hit (informal), somebody, celebrity, sensation, megastar (informal), V.I.P. Everyone who knows her says she will be a great success. big name nobody, loser, no-hoper, non-person, saddo (Brit. slang) Quotations "Eighty percent of success is showing up" [Woody Allen] "It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail" [Gore Vidal] "Failure is inevitable. Success is elusive" [Steven Spielberg] "Getting on is the opium of the middle classes" [Walter James] "To succeed in the world we must look foolish but be wise" [C.L. de Montesquieu Pensées] "Success has ruin'd many a man" [Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard's Almanack] "The secret of business success is honesty and sincerity. If you can fake those, you've got it made" [attributed to Groucho Marx] "If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut" [Albert Einstein] "Success is relative;" "It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things" [T.S. Eliot The Family Reunion] "success: the one unpardonable sin against one's fellows" [Ambrose Bierce The Devil's Dictionary] "Be nice to people on your way up because you'll meet 'em on your way down" [Wilson Mizner] Proverbs "Nothing succeeds like success" "There is always room at the top" Translations success [səkˈses] A. N 1. (at task) → éxito m (at, in en) the success or failure of the strategy → el éxito o el fracaso de la estrategia success never went to his head → el éxito nunca se le subió a la cabeza congratulations on your success! → ¡enhorabuena, lo has conseguido! the key to success at school → la clave del éxito escolar his success at the Olympics → sus logros en las Olimpiadas we have had some success in reducing the national debt → hemos conseguido or logrado reducir en parte la deuda pública to make a success of sth would you say he's made a success of his life? → ¿dirías que ha triunfado en la vida? we have made a success of the venture → hemos conseguido or logrado que la operación sea un éxito to meet with success → tener éxito to wish sb every success → desear a algn todo lo mejor she tried without success to get a loan from the bank → intentó, sin éxito, obtener un préstamo del banco I tried to distract him but without success → intenté distraerlo pero no lo conseguí or logré B. CPD success rate N the success rate of organ transplants → el índice de transplantes de órganos que salen bien, el número de transplantes de órganos realizados con éxito(frm) the police success rate in tracking down murderers → el número de asesinos que la policía logra atrapar success story N → éxito m success [səkˈsɛs] n success n → Erfolg m; without success → ohne Erfolg, erfolglos; wishing you every success in your exams → mit besten Wünschen für eine erfolgreiche Prüfung; to make a success of something → mit or bei etw Erfolg haben, mit or bei etw erfolgreich sein; they made a success of their marriage → ihre Ehe war ein Erfolg; to be a success with somebody → bei jdm ankommen; the new car is not a success → das neue Auto ist nicht gerade ein (durchschlagender) Erfolg; the plan was a success → der Plan war erfolgreich or ein voller Erfolg; to meet with success → Erfolg haben, erfolgreich sein; success story → Erfolgsstory f; (= person) → Erfolg m success [səkˈsɛs] n (gen) → successo, riuscita she was a great success → ha avuto un grande successo without success → senza successo or risultato to make a success of sth → riuscire bene in qc to meet with success → avere successo Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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