go down the tubes

(mostly gen.) if something has gone down the tubes, it has been ruined or destroyed.

Example: "The factory went down the tubes, when it became harder to get raw materials."

In the news: Chrysler's going down the tubes, too
Dictionary: go down the tubes
Bonus link: go down the tunes (origin of the expression)

Link to this idiom:

<a href="http://wordsbiz.blogspot.com/2009/03/go-down-tubes.html">down the tubes</a>

-----------
down the tubes, english idioms, english expressions, esl