[go] down the [tube]
1
to experience a significant decline, failure, or deterioration in a situation, project, or endeavor
The idiom “go down the tube” is believed to have originated in the 1930s, when people would throw unwanted items down the sewer pipes. Over time, the phrase came to be used in a figurative sense to describe anything that is going to waste or being ruined.
- After investing all their savings in the stock market, they watched as their portfolio went down the tube.
- The artist's career was on the rise, but after a series of bad reviews and cancelled shows, it went down the tubes.
- The company's reputation went down the tubes after a major scandal and subsequent loss of customers.