Bring Something Crashing Down Meaning
Definition: To cause either a physical structure or an ideological structure to collapse suddenly and strongly.
To be brought crashing down means that something has been destroyed in a sudden manner.
When things fall apart, both literally and figuratively, they often come falling down. If it crashes down, it is loud, abrupt, and immediate.
Origin of Bring It Crashing Down
Crash comes from the late-14th-century crasschen, meaning break into pieces. If something comes crashing down, it has broken into many pieces and can no longer support itself.
Crash is also indicative of a particularly loud sound. It is used in emphasis in the phrase bring crashing down to indicate that something has come down strongly and perhaps noisily.
An example of this can be found in the 1862 The Potter Journal from Pennsylvania:
- I thrust him aside with the heavy chair, and lifting it high in the air, brought it down crashing upon him.
By the 1900s, the phrase bring crashing down had come into use, as seen in the Rosebud County News from September 1902:
- In an evil moment he forgot that the hand that wields the powder rag is the very hand that rocks the world, and if the associated press reports be true has brought crashing down upon his old bald pate, the lurid anger of that portion of humanity supposed to be little lower than the angels.
Examples of Bring It Crashing Down
In the modern day, to bring something crashing down is used in the literal sense of causing a crash from falling objects, such as,
- The plates came crashing down when the cat jumped on the table.
It is also used figuratively with abstract concepts, like,
- My life came crashing down around me after the divorce.
More Examples
- A tree was brought crashing down on Cliffe Lane in Cleckheaton, blocking one side of the road. –Huddersfield Examiner
- The recovery seems to be strong — but a rate rise will bring it crashing down. –The Guardian
Summary
To bring something crashing down is to cause a sudden and powerful collapse of an institution, a structure, or an individual’s well being.
Contents