phrase meaning please???

[madjack]

do any of you nice intelligent folk know what the phrase

"A damp squib" means and what in fact is a damp squib ?

[splodger]

A squib is a firework � so a damp squib is a bit of a let down

[madjack]

bloody hell !!! that was quick.  Cheers mate, but where did the name squib origionate ??

[Ewood27]

The on-line dictionaries I have checked say the origin is uncertain, that it first appeared in the 16th century, and that it may be derived from root words meaning to move swiftly, possibly connected linguistically with "swift" and "whip" - or an imitation of the noise of a small explosion.

[Clanad]

The best way to explain the root meaning of "damp squib" is probably simply to point to its closest American English synonym -- "dud."  A "squib" in British parlance, as splodger states, is a type of firecracker, so a "damp squib" would be a firework that fails to properly explode because the gunpowder has gotten wet, a real disappointment to those of us who live for loud noises. 

The origin of "squib" is a bit of a mystery, but the most reasonable theory traces the word to the actual sound made by a firecracker that just fizzles... an  onomatopeia.  "Squib" first appeared in the early 16th century, and in addition to the "firework" meaning has since developed figurative senses of "a gun," "a short, sarcastic essay," "an insignificant person," "a small drink of alcohol," and others.  The idiom "damp squib" dates back to the mid-19th century.

Perhaps you meant a "damp squab", since nothing could be as dissapointing as a small damp bird...

[Clanad]

A real case of synchronography Ewood27!

[Ewood27]

Indeed, clanad - and I recognise wording from the same sources I looked at!  Great minds ....

[jocook17]

a squib is the thing which you cause to ignite which in turn causes an explosion in something else, a propulsion etc - obviously the blue touch paper of a firework, but also a cannon or the fuse of a stick of dynamite. In films, the capsules filled with fake blood used for gunshots etc are called squibs because they are fired.