<p><span style="color: #000000;">more fizzle than sizzle 사그라들다 지글거리다</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">I understand that it is referred to something that is scaled down compared</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">to one's expectations, but do you mind shedding a little, further light on</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">this expression‎?</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">In American usage, this seems to combine the words</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">SIZZLE and FIZZLE, familiar in very different contexts.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Advertising folore familiar to the general public is that</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">it is more effective to market the sizzle than the steak.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">(I.e. people's decisions to spend money are partly non-</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">rational: people respond to ideas and impressions no</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">less than to objective facts.)</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Fizzle describes a failed event, usually an explosive</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">one (cf. onomatopoeia) e.g. the failure of a space</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">rocket to launch OK, the failure of a firework to explode</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">(making a feeble sound instead of a glorious noise.)</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Because the words rhyme, it is tempting to juxtapose</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">these two onomatopoeic verbs, whether it makes</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">theoretical sense or not. But "more fizzle than sizzle"</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">justly describes some events that fail to happen as planned.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">Something that has "sizzle" is something that at least one aspect that</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">draws attention in a way that promises a good result. There's an</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">advertising adage that "to sell the steak, you have to sell the sizzle."</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">meaning that you can't just say "I've got these things for sale," you have</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">to convince the potential buyer that they will enjoy what happens if they</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">buy those things. So "sizzle" is a promise of positive results.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">"Fizzle" is what happens when a firework doesn't go off; it's an</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">onomotopoeic word that sounds like a failed explosion, and its meaning has</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">been broadened to mean any notable failure to deliver on a promise or plan.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">So saying that something had "more fizzle than sizzle" is to say that not</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">only did it fail to deliver on what it promised, there wasn't even much</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">promised in the first place.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #000000;">"sizzling" is generally good. The two words rhyme, so they make a</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">striking phrase together, that's all. If they were describing a party,</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">for example, we might find "They wanted their party to sizzle, but it</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">fizzled". It's a bit like an expression‎ used by fashion-writers: "Your</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000;">guide to what's hot and what's not."</span></p><p> </p>
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