circling the drain
Spiraling toward failure
Circling the drain describes something in irreversible decline, approaching its end.
The image is of water spiraling toward a drain before disappearing.
A failing business, a dying patient, or a doomed relationship might be circling the drain: The company's been circling the drain since the lawsuit.
The phrase suggests the outcome is inevitable—only the timing remains uncertain.
- critical conditionSeverely ill, unstable medically
- last gaspFinal desperate attempt
- sinking shipVessel filling with water
- downfallSudden loss of power
- collapseSudden structural failure
on its last legs · slow death · hanging by a thread · on the brink · writing on the wall · going downhill · entropy · slipping away · decay · breakdown · hospice care · demise · end of the line · life support · death spiral · point of no return · attrition · instability
- Hospital Slangstat, code blue, frequent flyer, turf, bounce back
- declinedecline, in decline, decrease, downswing, on the decline
circling the drainrecovering
Regaining health or strength
on the mend · bouncing back · turning the corner · coming back · rallying
circling the drainthriving
Succeeding vigorously
flourishing · going strong · firing on all cylinders · alive and kicking · in the pink
circle, circled, circles, circular, circularity, circulate, circulation, circulatory, circus