death spiral

noun

1. (in pair skating) a dramatic movement in which the man spins his partner around him in a gradually increasing radius while he spins in place, holding the extended arm of the woman, who revolves around him on one skate with the other leg stretched out and gradually lowers herself backward until she is just above the ice surface.

Example Sentences

There is a way out of this death spiral.

From Slate

Bollyn certainly offers a striking explanation for the events now taking place before our eyes, the voluntary death spiral into which we, as a nation, have been thrust at least in part by the radical Netanyahu government and his death-cult devotees led by the current American president.

From Salon

What there is not, so far, is a check to shore up Chicago’s mass transit before the death spiral begins.

From Slate

Many of the system’s 1.2 million daily rides would shift to cars, clogging the streets, and the system would enter the “transit death spiral,” in which service cuts beget ridership declines until transit is the option of last resort.

From Slate

But don’t worry, I’m not going to mark this anniversary by rambling on and on about the death spiral, other than to remind you to renew your subscription immediately.

From Los Angeles Times