go to the dogs
Fall into ruin
When something goes to the dogs, it deteriorates badly or falls into ruin.
The expression suggests decline from a previously better state: The neighborhood has really gone to the dogs since the factory closed.
It can apply to institutions, places, personal situations, or abstract qualities like standards or morals.
The phrase evokes the image of scraps being thrown to dogs—what's left after value has been extracted.
- fall apartBreak into pieces
- fall to piecesFragment completely, lose cohesion
- go wrongFail or malfunction
- degenerateDecline morally or physically
- declineDecrease or refuse
come apart at the seams · collapse · ruin · go to pot · rot · crash and burn · hit rock bottom · washed up · past its prime · seen better days · go under · fold · fail · go down the drain · disrepair · go bankrupt · rust · degradation