Synonyms

go south

Idioms

Deteriorate or decline, as in The stock market is headed south again. This expression is generally thought to allude to compasses and two-dimensional maps where north is up and south is down. However, among some Native Americans, the term was a euphemism for dying, and possibly this sense led to the present usage. [Slang; first half of 1900s] Also see go west.

Example Sentences

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go south

Despite those efforts, Israeli officials assess that hundreds of elite Hezbollah fighters were able to go south of the Litani River and join up with other Hezbollah units there after the war with Iran began.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026

That will be a problem if things go south.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026

So how many of these borderline investments would have to go south before the fund’s net asset value gets whacked?

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 7, 2025

Some have said they attempted to go south but were unable to pitch their tents, so returned to Gaza City.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2025

In New York, shorter days had told her to go south.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

go south

Example Sentences

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