go down the tubes
Synonym of go down the toilet: to fail; to degenerate rapidly.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“If we do not work harder, this project will go down the tubes.”
“The company started to go down the tubes after the manager made several poor financial decisions.”
“Despite the initial promise of the startup, the entire venture went down the tubes once the primary investors withdrew their support.”
- 01
all dressed up and nowhere to go
Elaborately attired or otherwise fully prepared for an anticipated situation or activity which, nevertheless, fails to occur.
- 02
all systems go
Everything is ready.
- 03
as you go
While one is doing (something); as one progresses.
- 04
boldly go where no man has gone before
To break new ground.
- 05
come and go
To repeatedly appear and disappear; to be transient.
- 06
don't go there
Do not broach that topic.
- 07
easy come, easy go
Easily won and easily lost (usually said when resigned to a loss; something that comes in the same way, goes in the same way)
- 08
enough to go around
There is an adequate amount or supply of something for all of the people present or involved.
Last updated August 10, 2026