go up in smoke

present singular third person goes up in smoke · participle present going up in smoke · past went up in smoke · participle past gone up in smoke

1. literallyTo catch fire and burn.

   Synonyms: go up in flames, catch fire, catch on fire, combust, conflagrate, fire, go up in flames, ignite

2. broadlyidiomaticTo be completely ruined, devastated, or reduced to nothingness.

   Near-synonym: evaporate

   2 more examples

   When the bank refused the credit, all our plans went up in smoke.

   There's a gypsy down on Bleecker Street I went in to see her as a kind of joke And she lit a candle for my love luck And eighteen bucks went up in smoke

   1976, Joni Mitchell, Song for Sharon

   Synonyms: burn down, burn up, come to nothing, end in smoke, go up in flames, evaporate