go down the pan

verb

Synonym of go down the toilet: to fail; to degenerate rapidly.

“The project would seriously go down the pan if Mrs. Foster weren't here to keep it on the straight and narrow.”

Similar
go down the toilet
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Meanings

verbgo down the pan (third-person singular simple present goes down the pan, present participle going down the pan, simple past went down the pan, past participle gone down the pan)

present singular third person goes down the pan · participle present going down the pan · past went down the pan · participle past gone down the pan

  1. UKeuphemisticidiomaticSynonym of go down the toilet: to fail; to degenerate rapidly.

    The project would seriously go down the pan if Mrs. Foster weren't here to keep it on the straight and narrow.

    Synonyms: go down the toilet

Synonyms & antonyms

verbSynonym of go down the toilet: to fail; to degenerate rapidly.

Similar
go down the toilet
Also see
go down the toilet
Cite this entry
APA

go down the pan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20down%20the%20pan

MLA

“go down the pan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20down%20the%20pan. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go down the pan,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20down%20the%20pan.

Source: go down the pan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.