go south
Head toward failure
To go south is to deteriorate, decline, or fail.
The expression likely comes from the convention of maps placing north at the top—things going down are going badly.
Business deals go south, relationships go south, someone's health goes south.
Everything was fine until the third quarter, then the whole project went south.
The phrase can also mean literally to travel southward, but the figurative sense dominates modern usage.
Become more severe
- degradeLower in standing
- crumbleFragment gradually
- decayGradual organic breakdown
- erodeDiminish through persistent friction
rot · spoil · sour · unravel · fall apart · disintegrate · break down · go downhill
worsen
Become more severe
erode · rot · spoil · sour · unravel · fall apart · disintegrate · break down · go downhill · go wrong
plummet
Rapid downward descent
tank · crash · bottom out · free fall · spiral · slide · dip · drop · sink · tumble
flee
Depart swiftly from threat
skip town · lay low · go underground · bolt · take off · split · vamoose · scram · fly the coop · on the lam
go southimprove
Raise in quality
get better · look up · turn around · pick up · bounce back
go southwork
Effort toward a goal
function · hold up · come through · perform · stay on track
south, southern, southwest, southeast, southward, southerly, southwestern, southwards, southernmost