Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to kill.

1855

T. Haliburton Nature and Human Nature II 156: Mr dear old missus died from only eaten hogs wid dere heads on [...] she was fizzled out by bad coookery at de last.

2. (orig. US) to peter out, to fail gradually but surely; also used as n. see cite 1861.

a.1848		Cincinnati Gazette n.p.: It cannot be possible, after all that has been said and done about a ‘splendid hotel,’ that our enterprising business men will let it fizzle out [B].
1857		Holmes Co. Repub. (OH) 12 Nov. 3/1: The Constitutional Convention is in a fair way to fizzle out.
1861		letter q. in Wiley Life of Billy Yank (1952) 275: The Erie Regiment is one grand fizzle out.
1865		M. MacFie Vancouver Island and British Columbia 416: The slang in vogue in the mining regions is imported mainly from California, and is often as expressive as it is original. [...] When a claim disappoints the hopes of those interested in it, it has ‘fizzled out.’.
1875		Grange Advance (Red Wing, MN) 9 Feb. 5/1: if a grange should fizzle out, what can a member do if he wishes to keep with the order?
1880		Iola Register (KS) 6 Feb. 1/3: If the Register printed such silly twaddle as the Independent [...] it would soon fizzle out.
1897		Advocate & Topeka Trib. (KS) 10 May 13/2: The Ady contest case will ‘fizzle out’ and soon be settled.
1902		A.N. Lyons Hookey 68: Come, come, comrades! You ain’t goin’ter let this so-called debate fizzle out where it begun?
1905		‘Central Connecticut Word-List’ in DN III:i 9: fizzle outv. To prove a failure.
1905		N. Davis Northerner 258: That talk about the unconstitutionality of the Moody bill fizzled out, did n’t it?
1912		Eve. Teleg. (Dundee) 25 Nov. 2/6: Unless they provided some tangible inducement to the men the whole thing will fizzle out.
1916		A. Brazil Luckiest Girl in School 3: ‘We always have more or less of a fuss when my school bills come in. It’ll soon fizzle out again!’.
1924		Dundee Courier 5 July 4/5: [headline] Buckhaven Charges Fizzle Out.
1938		F. Anthony ‘Efficiency’ in Me And Gus (1977) 58: Then all of a sudden, the old chap’s interest in swedes seemed to fizzle out.
1942		J. MacLaren-Ross ‘Y List’ in Memoirs of the Forties (1984) 249: The wireless [...] was now altogether Roosevelt and sometimes Bing Crosby. Hess had fizzled out.
1950		(con. 1936–46) K.S. Prichard Winged Seeds (1984) 229: She thought this wild-fire amour between himself and Pat would fizzle out.
1951		Kerouac letter 2 Jan. in Charters I (1995) 323: As for my ‘marriage,’ that fizzled.
1968		A. Buckeridge Jennings in Particular (1988) 9: You wouldn’t expect the game to fizzle out in the first over.
1977		C. McFadden Serial 32: Her job search having fizzled out.
1981		P. Crosbie Your Dinner’s Poured Out! 105: The war lasted a couple of weeks and then fizzled out.
1999		Guardian 15 Oct. 17: JonBenet murder case fizzles out.
2000		F. Mac Anna Cartoon City 148: I need to know if you’re serious about us. Or are you going to go on playing me along like this until we fizzle out?
2000		M. Collins Keepers of Truth 54: The AP carried a small piece [...] and then things fizzled.
2021		C. Hammer Opal Country 43: ‘It [i.e. rain] was real heavy last weekend [...] Fizzled out by Wednesday’.