go south

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

go south

Where it comes from

(become worse): The origin is unclear. Common belief attributes it to the standard orientation of maps, where south is the downwards direction; in this regard, compare also go downhill, decline, and drop off. Alternatively, it could stem from a euphemism used by some Native Americans for dying.

verb goes south · going south · went south · gone south

idiomatic To become unfavorable; to decrease; to take a turn for the worse. I should have walked away from the casino when my luck went south, but I stayed and ended up in the hole.
Similar: go downhill, go left, head south, move south, turn south, atrophy, break down, crack, decline, deteriorate, degenerate, devolve
intransitive To make an escape; to disappear. He won! A disbeliever, from childhood, in the frequency of miracles, he gathered up seven hundred and forty dollars and "went south" with it.
slang To give somebody oral sex.
slang To rathole: to take chips off the table in a cash game without exiting the game completely, especially with the intention of limiting losses.

Translations

Every language

verb become unfavorable

中文	不利 bùlì, 走下坡 zǒuxiàpō
Português	dar para o torto
Français	dégénérer, mal tourner
Deutsch	auf dem absteigenden Ast sein
Ελληνικά	εκφυλίζω ekfylízo
עברית	הִדְרִים hidrím

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"go south." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/go%20south. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

go south. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/go%20south

Chicago

"go south." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/go%20south.

BibTeX

@misc{go_south_2026,
  title = {go south},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/go%20south},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}