up like a rocket, down like a stick
- up like a rocket, down like a stick
The origin of this is Thomas Paine’s gibe about Edmund Burke’s oratory in a House of Commons debate on the subject of the French Revolution (see quot. 1792).
1792 T. PAINE Letter to Addressers on Late Proclamation 4 As he rose like a rocket, he fell like the stick.
1922 JOYCE Ulysses 364 Up like a rocket, down like a stick.
1974 A. MENEN Fonthill (1975) 53 I believe he died loaded with debts. Well, up like a rocket and down like the stick, I always say.
2002 Oldie Aug. 26 The value of the shares they had so vaingloriously promoted performed like the proverbial rocket and its equally proverbial stick.
Proverbs new dictionary.
Look at other dictionaries:
stick — noun see it is easy to find a stick to beat a dog up like a rocket, down like a stick speak softly and carry a big stick sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me verb see let the cobbler stick to his last … Proverbs new dictionary
down — see up like a rocket, down like a stick what goes up must come down … Proverbs new dictionary
rocket — see up like a rocket, down like a stick … Proverbs new dictionary
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go up like a rocket and come down like a stick — from the peak of prosperity to the depths of despair … English contemporary dictionary
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Liquid rocket booster — A Liquid Rocket Booster (LRB) is similar to a solid rocket booster (SRB) attached to the side of a rocket to give it extra lift at takeoff. A Liquid Rocket Booster has fuel and oxidiser in liquid form, as opposed to a solid rocket or hybrid… … Wikipedia
