Idiom Breakdown

go up in smoke

BROADLY

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Definition

To be completely ruined, devastated, or reduced to nothingness.

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In Context

"Near-synonym: evaporate"
"When the bank refused the credit, all our plans went up in smoke."
"There's a gypsy down on Bleecker Street I went in to see her as a kind of joke And she lit a candle for my love luck And eighteen bucks went up in smoke"

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Also Said As

burn down
burn up
come to nothing
end in smoke
go up in flames
evaporate