tits up
Broken; failed; inoperable.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“My computer went tits up right before the deadline.”
“Our old car finally went tits up on the way to the airport.”
“The entire project went tits up when the server crashed during the final presentation.”
“The wedding plans went tits up after the caterer canceled and the venue flooded on the same morning.”
“I tried to fix the washing machine myself, but everything went tits up and now the kitchen is underwater.”
“The small business went tits up after the bank refused to extend their loan during the first year of trading.”
“Despite our careful planning, the complex logistics system went tits up, forcing the entire team to abandon the operation.”
disputed origin
The origin of the phrase is uncertain, though etymologists suggest it likely draws from the posture of a deceased animal lying on its back. An alternative, unproven theory traces the expression to the behaviour of aircraft attitude indicators; under certain regional conventions, a faulty instrument may invert to display a 'W' that resembles a pair of breasts. Both accounts link the term to a state of total, inverted collapse.
- 01
arse over tit
Tumbling; falling; upside-down, unstable or unbalanced.
- 02
get one's tits in a wringer
To get into trouble.
- 03
hind tit
An inferior source of food or other resources.
- 04
keep one's tits on
Synonym of keep one's hair on.
- 05
off one's tits
Heavily intoxicated; under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
- 06
suck hind tit
To feed from an inferior source of food.
- 07
suck tits
To be terrible, to be of extremely poor quality.
- 08
tit for tat
Equivalent retribution; an act of returning exactly what one gets; an eye for an eye.
Last updated August 10, 2026