Fell at the first hurdle
Meaning
To fail at the very beginning of an undertaking or challenge, preventing any further progress.
Origin
The vivid imagery of 'falling at the first hurdle' springs directly from the dramatic world of track and field. In a hurdle race, competitors must clear a series of obstacles, each jump a test of skill and speed. To trip and fall at the very first barrier is to have your entire effort—your months of training, your hopes for victory—dashed in an instant, often before the race has even properly begun. This powerful visual of an immediate, catastrophic failure, so common in competitive athletics, seamlessly migrated into everyday language during the formalization of modern sports in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, becoming a punchy shorthand for an early, decisive defeat in any endeavor.
Examples
- She had ambitious plans for her new business, but she fell at the first hurdle when her crucial funding application was rejected.
- Many aspiring writers fall at the first hurdle, never completing their initial manuscript after starting with great enthusiasm.