go to the wall

present singular third person goes to the wall · participle present going to the wall · past went to the wall · participle past gone to the wall

1. idiomaticTo make an all-out effort.

   He'll be the one who goes to the wall when it's needed.

   2 more examples

   He's always been willing to go to the wall for his friends.

   That was the one point he was willing to go to the wall on.

2. idiomaticTo fail, to run out of options. (especially of a business)

   While he was doing his stories, and « getting on » in the world, Tevershall was going to the wall.

   1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter IX, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Germany?]: Privately printed, →OCLC, page 125

   1 more example

   That may be cold comfort for the many import-reliant businesses that have gone to the wall as a result of the rial’s recent plunge of 40% against the dollar [...]

   2012 October 13, “Iran and its currency crisis: A comeback for the reformers?”, in The Economist

3. idiomaticTo be put aside or forgotten.
4. idiomaticTo take an extreme and determined position or measure.