go down the tubes

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go down the tubes

verb goes down the tubes · going down the tubes · went down the tubes · gone down the tubes · go down the tube

US, euphemistic, idiomatic Synonym of go down the toilet: to fail; to degenerate rapidly. The entire plan went down the tubes when they found they couldn't get strawberries in December.
Similar: go down the toilet

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MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX

@misc{go_down_the_tubes_2026,
  title = {go down the tubes},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/go%20down%20the%20tubes},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}