"fall flat" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "falls flat",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "falling flat",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "fell flat",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "fallen flat",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fall<,,fell,fallen> flat"
      },
      "expansion": "fall flat (third-person singular simple present falls flat, present participle falling flat, simple past fell flat, past participle fallen flat)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "fall flat on one's face"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The politician's speech fell flat.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1847, John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell, The Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England, volume VI, page 518",
          "text": "When Sir Walter Scott, with a view to profit rather than fame, published \"Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk,\" with some very indifferent verses to celebrate the battle of Waterloo, Erskine, sitting at table, came out with the following impromptu:—\"On Waterloo's ensanguined plain\nLie tens of thousands of the slain;\nBut none, by sabre or by shot,\nFell half so flat as Walter Scott.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 May 13, Alistair Magowan, “Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport",
          "text": "United were made to pay for letting an eight-point lead as little as five weeks ago slip and, despite their final-day efforts, they will look back on a season where, when they needed to step up, they fell flat.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 June 28, Lauren Coates, “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny review: Harrison Ford goes to the whip”, in AV Club",
          "text": "Although emotions are almost entirely absent and the comedy routinely falls flat, where Dial Of Destiny is able to succeed are the action sequences.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect."
      ],
      "id": "en-fall_flat-en-verb-3-wdQy7v",
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
          "word": "lässähtää"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
          "word": "tomber à plat"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
          "word": "dugába dől"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
          "word": "kudarcba fullad"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
          "word": "meghiúsul"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
          "word": "csődöt mond"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
          "word": "kudarcot vall"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "fall flat"
}

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "fall flat on one's face"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "falls flat",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "falling flat",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "fell flat",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "fallen flat",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fall<,,fell,fallen> flat"
      },
      "expansion": "fall flat (third-person singular simple present falls flat, present participle falling flat, simple past fell flat, past participle fallen flat)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The politician's speech fell flat.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1847, John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell, The Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England, volume VI, page 518",
          "text": "When Sir Walter Scott, with a view to profit rather than fame, published \"Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk,\" with some very indifferent verses to celebrate the battle of Waterloo, Erskine, sitting at table, came out with the following impromptu:—\"On Waterloo's ensanguined plain\nLie tens of thousands of the slain;\nBut none, by sabre or by shot,\nFell half so flat as Walter Scott.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 May 13, Alistair Magowan, “Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport",
          "text": "United were made to pay for letting an eight-point lead as little as five weeks ago slip and, despite their final-day efforts, they will look back on a season where, when they needed to step up, they fell flat.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 June 28, Lauren Coates, “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny review: Harrison Ford goes to the whip”, in AV Club",
          "text": "Although emotions are almost entirely absent and the comedy routinely falls flat, where Dial Of Destiny is able to succeed are the action sequences.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
      "word": "lässähtää"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
      "word": "tomber à plat"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
      "word": "dugába dől"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
      "word": "kudarcba fullad"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
      "word": "meghiúsul"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
      "word": "csődöt mond"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to produce no effect; to fail in the intended effect",
      "word": "kudarcot vall"
    }
  ],
  "word": "fall flat"
}