go down the tubes

to be wasted and unrecoverable

TRANSLATION

Den Bach runtergehen; unwiderruflich entsorgt tubes = die Rohre, die Röhren, die Schläuche

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

An American economics professor, Robert Nelson of Maryland University, spent six months as a research associate at Zimbabwe University. His conclusion:

"I think the Zimbabwe economy will continue to GO DOWN THE TUBES until they get some political stability and, as long as Mugabe is there, that's not going to happen," he said.

(BBC News - 18 October 2000)

Did you
know?

The tubes are the pipework connected to a lavatory.    So you can imagine how this idiom came into being.

Synonym: go down the drain

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