down the drain
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Soviet culture is slipping down the drain
Mind you, he paid, I'll say that for him, but it might just as well have been her — the money was thrown down the drain all the same! "
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Euphemism (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Equivalents & related
Near equivalent
tiêu ma
(verb) to go down the drain, to be reduced to nothing
Tiếng Việt
Near equivalent
go down the drain
To be wasted or lost
English · via tiêu ma
Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.
Common questions
What does “down the drain” mean?
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Is “down the drain” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“tiêu ma” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.