solanum100's definitions

petered out

Declined slowly to almost nothing. American slang.

To me the first note of warning came from an American gentleman, who told me that the same thing had been a great "boom" in the States, but that it had "petered out" and was not now believed except in very unsophisticated country places.
The "Georgia Magnet": A Statce to Mr. H. W. Schneider at Barrow. The Manchester Guardian. November 23, 1891. Page 8. Viewed in ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

by solanum100 August 27, 2013