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failure |
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failure [′fāl·yər] (engineering) A permanent change in the volume of a powder or the stresses within it. (mechanics) Condition caused by collapse, break, or bending, so that a structure or structural element can no longer fulfill its purpose. Failure Army Bomb Plot attempted assassination of Hitler; his miraculous escape brought dreadful retaliation (1944). [Ger. Hist.: Van Doren, 500] comic strip character for whom losing is a way of life. [Comics: “Peanuts” in Horn, 542–543] financially disastrous cross-country marathon. [Am. Hist.: Sann, 48–56] broken-spirited man occupying subordinate position. [Br. Lit.: Dombey and Son] much bruited automobile fails on market (1950s). [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 78] contentious and unloved salesman; commits suicide in despair. [Am. Lit.: Appointment in Samarra] attempt to blow up the Parliament building; led to the execution of its leader, Guy Fawkes (1605). [Brit. Hist.: EB, IV: 70–71]
much-loved, much-imitated hapless, “I’m a failure” persona. [Am. Cinema: Griffith, 79] traveling salesman who gradually comes to realize that his life has been a complete failure; commits suicide. [Am. Lit.: The Death of a Salesman, Payton, 397] ignominiously strikes out in the clutch. [Am. Lit.: “Casey at the Bat” in Turkin, 642] very promising writer who, after unsuccessful publication, returns to clerical job. [Br. Lit.: New Grub Street, Magill I, 647–649] district of down-and-outs and bums. [Am. Usage: Brewer Dictionary, 1008] President Ford’s scheme to reduce inflation: for the American public to wear shields stating “WIN.” (Whip Inflation Now). [Am. Hist.: Misc.] “ingenious” creation of a third professional league that never materialized. [Am. Sports: Misc.] steamship stoker vainly tries to climb the social ladder, then fails in attempt to avenge himself on society. [Am. Drama: O’Neill The Hairy Ape in Sobel, 339]
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| Jon Fraser's excellent article on Albee not only serves as a reminder of the pervasive homophobia of the 1960s--he quotes the review of Tiny Alice by Philip Roth, who detested the play's "ghastly pansy rhetoric" (21)--but also of the critical and commercial failures as well as successes in the playwright's career. But the success stories outnumber the commercial failures and have not just been limited to the first quarter. Fenton's ongoing interest in the reproduction of his prints in multiples and the publication of his stereographs as illustrations to texts attests to his interest in shaping the social significance of photography as a reproductive medium, even as the commercial failures of these projects also attest to the limitations of Fenton's understanding of the market. |
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