success has many fathers, failure is an orphan
every man is the architect of his own fortune
go nowhere
drop the ball
go over like a lead balloon
sticks in a bundle are unbreakable
God hates a coward
underachieve
miscarry
fail at life
don't hate the player, hate the game
one strike and you're out
corncob
miss
nonstarter
you win some, you lose some
live by the sword, die by the sword
break down
easy for you to say
be riding for a fall
faultable
plaster saint
sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you
calculated risk
take
unfulfillment
scapegoat
have nothing on someone
love the sinner, hate the sin
fall back
unhopeful
pons asinorum
impostor syndrome
underprivileged
law of diminishing returns
backfire
black book
blacklist
miss the mark
underwhelm
bail
shitlist
born loser
you have to be good to be lucky
draw a blank
to little avail
throw stones in a glass house
Little Red Hen syndrome
fighting chance
even chance
disadvantageous
nonperseverance
miss the boat
welch
unfavourable
moocher
failingness
kyoodle
go down in flames
default
doomedness
come a gutser
unfavorable
blame game
the grass is always greener on the other side
blow one's chance
give something up as a bad job
thumbscrew
mismeet
bystander effect
in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
flat out
nonfulfillment
you can't win them all
the cure is worse than the disease
push one's luck
hit the skids
nonfeasance
placebo effect
die on the vine
the jug goes to the well until it breaks
I got mine
leave a lot to be desired
you're only as good as your last shift
in spite of oneself
sink or swim
defensive attribition
misfire
futile
opportunity makes a thief
muddle through
disconsider
cream-skim
beneffectance
short end of the stick
mis-
Buridan's ass