rinna ut i sanden

Swedish

Etymology

rinna (“run (flow)”) +‎ ut (“out”) +‎ i (“in”) +‎ sanden (“the sand”), "run out / drain into the sand"

Verb

rinna ut i sanden (present rinner ut i sanden, preterite rann ut i sanden, supine runnit ut i sanden, imperative rinn ut i sanden)

1. (idiomatic) to (unceremoniously) come to an end as opposed to proceed (of some pursuit), to fail to continue; to come to nothing, to fizzle out, to peter out, etc.

   Folk fick fullt upp med annat, och projektet rann ut i sanden

   People got busy with other things, and the project fizzled out [drained into the sand]

   Vi hade planer på ett musikaliskt samarbete, men det rann ut i sanden

   We had plans for a musical collaboration, but nothing came of it [it drained into the sand]

   Vi var ett gäng som spelade på padelhallen varje helg i några månader, men sen rann det ut i sanden

   We were a bunch of guys who played every weekend at the padel arena for a few months, but then it fizzled

See also

• gå om intet
• gå i stöpet

References

• sand in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• rinna in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• sand in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)