
IdiomDaily Life
English
go off the rails
Meaning: To lose control of one's life or behavior.
Example: “He went off the rails for a year after the business failed.”
Origin: A train off its rails no longer goes where it should. The figurative phrase is British, common from the 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
Russian: пускаться во все тяжкие (puskat'sya vo vse tyazhkiye) Literally: To set oneself into all the grave things
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