soap bubble
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: A very thin, spherical film of soapy water filled with air, forming a fragile, iridescent bubble. It is created by blowing air through a soap solution and is often used as a playful, transient object or as a metaphor for something beautiful but insubstantial or short-lived.
Usage
The term "soap bubble" is used to describe the physical object itself. It is a countable noun. * The child blew soap bubbles that floated across the yard. * A single soap bubble landed on the grass and popped instantly. * The economic boom turned out to be a soap bubble that couldn't last.
Advanced Usage
- Metaphorical Use: Commonly used to describe plans, hopes, economies, or situations that appear attractive or promising but are fragile, empty, or destined to burst.
- His grand scheme was nothing more than a soap bubble of an idea.
- The stock market rally was a soap bubble waiting to burst.
Variants and Related Words
- Bubble (noun): A more general term for a thin sphere of liquid enclosing air or gas. A soap bubble is a specific type of bubble.
- Soap film (noun): The thin layer of soapy water that forms the surface of a soap bubble.
Synonyms
- Air bubble (though this typically refers to a bubble of air within a liquid, not a free-floating sphere)
- Globe (in a poetic sense, emphasizing its spherical shape)
Idioms and Phrases
- Like a soap bubble: Used to describe something that disappears suddenly and completely.
- His confidence vanished like a soap bubble.
- A soap bubble economy: An economy characterized by rapid expansion in asset values (like housing or stocks) followed by a sudden, dramatic collapse.
- Experts warned that the country was creating a soap bubble economy.
Noun
- a bubble formed by a thin soap film