go down the drain

Meaning: To be wasted or lost, or to fail completely.

Language: English

Literally: (Already vivid in English)

Example: “All our planning went down the drain when the venue canceled.”

Category: Daily Life

Origin: Whatever goes down the drain is gone for good. The figurative use is common from the 20th century.

Equivalents in other languages

of the old school — Holding traditional values or ways of doing things.
keep one's eye on the ball — To stay focused on what matters.
be cut out for something — To have the right qualities for something.
go to bat for someone — To support or defend someone.
pull the plug — To put a stop to something, especially by cutting off its support.
clean house — To get rid of unwanted people or practices in an organization.

cherry-pick — To choose only the best or most convenient items.
kick it up a notch — To increase effort, intensity or excitement.
take matters into one's own hands — To act oneself because others have failed to.
fight fire with fire — To respond to an attack with the same methods.
under lock and key — Securely locked away.
all in one's head — Imagined rather than real, or a matter of attitude.

Over haste makes certain waste. — Rushing through tasks carelessly destroys more value than the time saved by hurrying.
Hasty men never lack woe. — Rushing through decisions creates preventable problems that patient deliberation would ha…
Hasty resolutions seldom speed well. — Rushing into decisions without reflection typically produces poor outcomes and delays eve…