go down the drain
Be completely lost
To go down the drain is to be wasted or lost, often irretrievably: All that effort went down the drain when the project was cancelled.
The image is of something valuable disappearing into a sink or sewer.
Money, time, opportunities, and plans all go down the drain when they come to nothing.
- fall by the waysideGradually cease being pursued
- go to wasteFail to be utilized
- squanderingReckless depletion of resources
- wasteUnwanted discarded material
- throw good money after badInvesting further in failures
dissipate · failure · fruitless · sinking · go to the dogs · ruined · loss · up in smoke · money pit · despair · futile · pointless · all for nothing · anguish · vanish · deplete · vain · collapse