Flash in the pan  好景不长

    这个短语的字面解释是“锅里一闪光”，这是什么意思呢？请看对话：

    A: What do you see in the technology company whose stakes you are investing in?

    B: We're hoping that this is a long-term opportunity, and not just a flash in the pan.

    Note: This idiom refers to something which disappoints by failing to deliver anything of value, despite a showy beginning. There's reason to believe that this phrase derives from the Californian Gold Rush of the mid 19th century. Prospectors who panned for gold supposedly became excited when they saw something glint in the pan, only to have their hopes dashed when it proved not to be gold but a mere "flash in the pan." Nevertheless, the phrase derives from a real flash in a real pan. Flintlock muskets used to have small pans to hold charges of gunpowder. An attempt to fire the musket in which the gunpowder flared up without a bullet being fired was a "flash in the pan." The term has been known since the late 17th century.