burst someone's bubble

English

Alternative forms

• bust someone's bubble
• pop someone's balloon

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

burst someone's bubble (third-person singular simple present bursts someone's bubble, present participle bursting someone's bubble, simple past and past participle burst someone's bubble)

1. (idiomatic) To disillusion; to disabuse someone of a false notion or rationalization that has grown comfortable.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:put a damper on

   I hate to burst his bubble, but he is going to be disappointed if he tries that idea.

   • 2019 October 31, Garrick Beckett, “Beckett: How BioWare Approaches Religion & Sexuality”, in The Lutheran Column‎^[1], archived from the original on 17 September 2020, Blog‎^[2]:

     Second, the romance option brings up a unique issue: having sex with an alien. It’s somewhat difficult to say what the Christian should think on this issue because, well, the Bible doesn’t talk about aliens. Probably because they don’t exist (sorry to burst your bubble). Would this be considered bestiality? Or is it not bestiality since they are also beings capable of rational and ethical thought and self-reflection unlike usual animals?

Translations

to disillusion; to disabuse someone of a false notion or rationalization that has grown comfortable

• Czech: brát iluze, kazit radost
• French: casser le morceau (fr), casser le mythe
• German: jemandem seine Illusionen rauben, jemandem seine Illusionen zerstören
• Portuguese: cortar o barato de alguém

See also

• rock the boat
• make waves
• wet blanket
• killjoy
• party pooper
• spoilsport
• stick in the mud