[Idiom] What does "I fell flat on my face" mean?

[azhu]

"I fell flat on my face when I was trying to climb a ladder."
What does falling flat on one's face mean?:?:

 

[bhaisahab]

"I fell flat on my face when I was trying to climb a ladder."
What does falling flat on one's face mean?:?:

What do you think it might mean?

 

[azhu]

What do you think it might mean?

I'm imagining the speaker's face became "flat" as a rubber ball when it bumped right on the ground...is this right?

I found an explanation on a website some time after I posted my question.
Fall flat on my face definition by Babylon?s free dictionary
So when someone says he/she has fallen flat on his/her face, does that person mean both hitting the face on the ground and "making an embarrassing mistake" as the website indicates?

 

[bhaisahab]

I'm imagining the speaker's face became "flat" as a rubber ball when it bumped right on the ground...is this right?

I found an explanation on a website some time after I posted my question.
Fall flat on my face definition by Babylon?s free dictionary
So when someone says he/she has fallen flat on his/her face, does that person mean both hitting the face on the ground and "making an embarrassing mistake" as the website indicates?

It could mean either literally falling down on ones face, or the figurative definition in your link. It depends on the context, in the context you have given you can understand it literally.

 

[Tdol]

It could have both meanings if the person felt embarrassed, but the primary meaning is literal here.