off the rails

1. In an abnormal or malfunctioning condition, as in Her political campaign has been off the rails for months. The phrase occurs commonly with go, as in Once the superintendent resigned, the effort to reform the school system went off the rails. This idiom alludes to the rails on which trains run; if a train goes off the rails, it stops or crashes. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

“You can go off the rails completely when you are hyping yourself with the supply-side, versus really understanding how to translate that into real value to customers.”

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The accident, which saw the picture-postcard 19th-century Gloria tramway hurtle into a building after careering off the rails, shocked the Portuguese capital, laying bare fears over the safety of the popular yet ageing tourist attraction.

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Age and alcohol can send a field day off the rails.

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The regular meeting of the Davis Joint Unified School District’s Board of Education was thrown off the rails on Sept. 18 when Beth Bourne took off her clothes during the public comment portion of the meeting.

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But the bigger moments are where this psychologically and morally fascinating play goes off the rails.

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