功败垂成

tā xiǎng chū le jǐ gè fāng àn dàn dōu gōng bài chuí chéng

他想出了几个方案，但都功败垂成。

He came up with several plans that failed spectacularly before finally achieving success.

zài zhè zhōu de wěi shēng tā shì tú dǎ pò shuǐ zhōng biē qì jiǔ fēn zhōng de shì jiè jì lù dàn gōng bài chuí chéng

在这周的尾声，他试图打破水中憋气九分钟的世界纪录，但功败垂成。

At the end of the week, he attempted, but failed, to break the world's nine-minute underwater breath-holding record.