go left
To take a turn for the worse, to go horribly wrong.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The party started well, but then things went left.”
“We had a solid plan for the project, but everything went left when the main server crashed.”
“Despite our careful preparations, the entire negotiation went left as soon as the opposing team introduced their unexpected demands.”
disputed origin
The expression is possibly an alteration of the phrase to go wrong, constructed by substituting an antonym for the adjective right. It relies on the linguistic relationship between the two terms, though the specific origin of this substitution remains unproven.
- 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
be left at the post
To be beaten from the beginning of a competition or race.
- 05
be left holding the baby
To be left with the responsibility of resolving a problem.
- 06
boldly go where no man has gone before
To break new ground.
- 07
come and go
To repeatedly appear and disappear; to be transient.
- 08
don't go there
Do not broach that topic.
Last updated August 10, 2026