To fail; to be ruined or destroyed; to be squandered or wastefully discarded. My father's company is going down the tubes because of the incompetent new CEO.All of our savings have gone down the tubes ever since Jack had his little gambling spree in Las Vegas.
go down the ˈtube/ˈtubes
(informal) (of a plan, company, situation, etc.) fail: The education system is going down the tubes.
go down the tube
verb
See go down the tubes
go down the tube(s)
and go down the chute
in. to fail totally; to be ruined. I tried, but it all went down the tube. All my plans just went down the chute.