This mini episode teaches you another useful expression: “fizzle out.”
Episode 161 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you another useful expression: “fizzle out.” Send your questions about English and your suggestions for future episodes to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
That's right—this is another mini episode. This is the fourth mini episode in a row. I think with the coronavirus pandemic I just don't have the energy for long, complicated episodes. So this will be another quick one.
And the expression I'm going to teach you today is fizzle out. Fizzle out. That’s fizzle: f-i-z-z-l-e. Out: o-u-t. Fizzle out.
To fizzle out means to end in a weak or disappointing or unimpressive way. Let me give you an example sentence so you can see how we use fizzle out:
“People all around the world are hoping that the coronavirus pandemic fizzles out soon.” People all around the world are hoping that the coronavirus pandemic fizzles out soon.
In other words, people all around the world hope that the coronavirus pandemic finally just stops. We all hope that it just stops in a weak, unimpressive way. When the coronavirus pandemic started, it was strong and fierce and dangerous and powerful. But everybody just wants it to fizzle out. They just want it to fade away. They just want it to end in a weak or unimpressive way.
And that is fizzle out, a useful phrasal verb that I think you should know.