Idiom
one-way ticket to Palookaville
Meaning
Something that results in failure or obscurity, with no chance at redemption; a dead end.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“That bad business deal is a one-way ticket to Palookaville.”
“Lying on your tax return is a one-way ticket to Palookaville.”
“This cheap engine part is a one-way ticket to Palookaville for your car.”
“If you keep ignoring your customers, your company is on a one-way ticket to Palookaville.”
“Refusing to learn new software in this industry is a one-way ticket to Palookaville for any ambitious professional.”
“The director realized that releasing such a boring movie would be a one-way ticket to Palookaville for his career.”
“His decision to abandon the core strategy was a one-way ticket to Palookaville, ensuring his project would soon be forgotten by the board.”
Examples
simple
“That bad business deal is a one-way ticket to Palookaville.”
“Lying on your tax return is a one-way ticket to Palookaville.”
“This cheap engine part is a one-way ticket to Palookaville for your car.”
contextual
“If you keep ignoring your customers, your company is on a one-way ticket to Palookaville.”
“Refusing to learn new software in this industry is a one-way ticket to Palookaville for any ambitious professional.”
“The director realized that releasing such a boring movie would be a one-way ticket to Palookaville for his career.”
complex
“His decision to abandon the core strategy was a one-way ticket to Palookaville, ensuring his project would soon be forgotten by the board.”
Origin
The expression originates from a line of dialogue in the 1954 film On the Waterfront. It entered the lexicon as a reference to a fictional destination for the failed and the forgotten, specifically those whose careers in the boxing ring had concluded in obscurity.
Key words
Related idioms
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