go over like a lead balloon

English

Alternative forms

• go down like a lead balloon

Etymology

Presumably from go over (“to be received”), used as if literally (“to travel above”): a lead balloon would not travel well through the air.

Verb

go over like a lead balloon (third-person singular simple present goes over like a lead balloon, present participle going over like a lead balloon, simple past went over like a lead balloon, past participle gone over like a lead balloon)

1. (simile) To fail to gain acceptance: to be received poorly.

Synonyms

• go down like a cup of cold sick

Related terms

• fly with leaden wings

Translations

to fail

• Russian: пролете́ть, как фане́ра над Пари́жем (ru) (proletétʹ, kak fanéra nad Parížem, literally “to fly like plywood over Paris”)

See also

• sink like a stone
• like a fart in church