QUESTION -
' Damp Squib' means - Something that fails ignominiously to satisfy expectations; an anti-climax, a disappointment? When was this phrase first used and by whom ?
ANSWER - In 1837 by the British parliamentarian George Grote.
The first thing to say about the expression 'damp squib' is that is is 'squib', not 'squid'. Squid are a species of cephalopod. In their natural environment squid are usually damp but that's as near to this phrase as they are likely to get. Having mentioned squid I ought also to get the other notable squiddish play on words out of the way - the old joke "Hey, where's that sick squid you owe me?". Having done our linguistic duty with squid, we can now move on to 'damp squib'.
A squib is a form of firework, usually cylindrical in shape with a paper fuse at one end, which provides a mild explosion - think 'dynamite lite'. Clearly, fireworks work best when they are dry. Anyone who, at a backyard bonfire, has lit the blue touch paper and retired only to see the firework phut and fizzle out will know the disappointment of a damp squib.
In the 16th century, 'squibs' were also short, sharp literary compositions of a satirical or sarcastic character. Both the 'firework' meaning and the 'satire' meaning are first found in print in the 1520s and it isn't entirely clear which came first.
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