roman candle

present singular third person roman candles · participle present roman candling · participle past roman candled · past roman candled

1. alternativeAlternative form of Roman-candle.

   The parachute was on a slant in the air and threatened at any minute to roman candle.

   2017, Wilhelm Johnen, Battling the Bombers

   2 more examples

   On the second operation the 1,000 mortar bombs were parachuted into the LZ on 125 chutes; all were on target but two roman candled which sent everyone diving for cover and necessitated the change of some knickers.

   2019, David Taylor, The First Helicopter Boys

   Several of these would be seen to 'roman candle' (parachute failing to open) as did happen all too often during the war, on both sides of the conflict.

   2023, Dilip Sarkar, Robert J Rudhall, Battle of Britain The Movie, page 91

plural Roman candles

1. pyrotechnicsA traditional type of firework that ejects one or more stars or exploding shells.

   [Karoline] Leavitt threw Roman candles, Catherine wheels and smoke bombs in the air in the hope of distracting reporters. But she was unable to quash the nagging suspicion that Donald Trump has something to hide.

   2025 September 9, David Smith, “The president doth protest too much: Trump’s denial on Epstein is backfiring”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

2. aeronauticsA parachute deployment failure in which the parachutist whirls downward at high speed.

present singular third person Roman candles · participle present Roman candling · participle past Roman candled · past Roman candled

1. alternativeAlternative form of Roman-candle.

   At first, Cyclops's chute began to Roman candle, but in another moment, it popped.

   2007, J. Joseph Higgins, The Splat Conspiracy: America in Peril, page 145

   2 more examples

   Canopies used to be made of silk and when they got wet they would not open, leaving the parachutist to “Roman candle” to a certain death.

   2012, Nigel Cawthorne, The Mammoth Book of Inside the Elite Forces

   That was the theory, but as Corby continued, 'Unfortunately, in operation, this type of parachute tended to "Roman Candle" twist round and round, so that ultimately caused the parachute to collapse and allow the man to fall to the ground unsupported.'

   2018, Mark Seaman, Undercover Agent

present singular third person Roman Candles · participle present Roman Candling · participle past Roman Candled · past Roman Candled

1. alternativeAlternative form of Roman-candle.

   Some hit the rocky outcrops Some fell into the sea Some even 'Roman Candled' (A parachutist I would never be)

   2022, Chris Pratt, Four Brothers in the Pacific War

   1 more example

   I waited and he came to the point: he wanted me simply to talk to a patient he had inherited, a sports parachutist who had Roman Candled into a tree and broken and disarticulated his back.

   2002, Eric Anderson, The Man Who Cried Orange, page 239