sad trombone

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sad trombone

Where it comes from

From a plaintive trombone (or sometimes trumpet) sting played during game shows to indicate a player losing.

interjection

humorous Used to indicate failure or disappointment. Last week the Wall Street Journal reported LP sales surged 49 percent last year and that factories are struggling to keep pace, but in the end, vinyl sales represent only 2 percent of U.S. music sales (*sad trombone*).
Similar: boowomp, wah-wah, womp womp

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MLA

"sad trombone." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sad%20trombone. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sad trombone. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sad%20trombone

Chicago

"sad trombone." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sad%20trombone.

BibTeX

@misc{sad_trombone_2026,
  title = {sad trombone},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sad%20trombone},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}