down the toilet

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phraseinformal

   Completely wasted, ruined, or lost, as if flushed away.

   Grammar: Used after verbs like go, be, or end up: 'The deal went down the toilet.' It describes a result, not an action.

   Patterns

   • go down the toilet
   • be down the toilet
   • end up down the toilet

   All my savings went down the toilet after the business failed.

   Our holiday plans are down the toilet because of the storm.

   He spent years on that project, and now it's all down the toilet.

2. 2phrasefixed phraseinformal

   In a very bad or hopeless situation; ruined.

   Grammar: Often used with 'go' to mean 'become ruined': 'The company went down the toilet.' It can describe a person's life or a thing.

   Patterns

   • go down the toilet
   • something goes down the toilet

   After the scandal, his career went down the toilet.

   The whole neighborhood went down the toilet when the factory closed.

Common combinations

go down the toilet

My grades went down the toilet after I stopped studying.

all down the toilet

The money we saved is all down the toilet now.

down the toilet for someone

That opportunity is down the toilet for me.

end up down the toilet

If you keep spending like that, you'll end up down the toilet.

Synonyms and how they differ

down the drain

Very similar meaning, but slightly less crude and more common in formal writing. 'Down the toilet' is more informal and vivid.

wasted

Direct adjective meaning 'used badly'; 'down the toilet' is a phrase that emphasizes total loss or ruin.

ruined

Stronger and more general; 'down the toilet' suggests a complete failure, often with a sense of waste.

Opposites

Commonly confused: down the toilet or in the toilet?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “down the toilet”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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