go down the pan

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go down the pan

verb goes down the pan · going down the pan · went down the pan · gone down the pan

UK, euphemistic, idiomatic Synonym of go down the toilet: to fail; to degenerate rapidly. The project would seriously go down the pan if Mrs. Foster weren't here to keep it on the straight and narrow.
Similar: go down the toilet

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MLA

"go down the pan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/go%20down%20the%20pan. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

go down the pan. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/go%20down%20the%20pan

Chicago

"go down the pan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/go%20down%20the%20pan.

BibTeX

@misc{go_down_the_pan_2026,
  title = {go down the pan},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/go%20down%20the%20pan},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}