Sentence:  So Hall quit the job, turned in the company car and went to Chicago, where as a stand-up comic he <WSD>bombed</WSD> several times before he was discovered by Nancy Wilson, who took him on the road — where he <WSD>bombed</WSD> again before a room of Republicans—and then to Los Angeles. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To fail dismally.