go south

1. 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.

Related Words

• abandon 
• depart 
• die 
• die out 
• dissipate 
• dissolve 
• escape 
• evaporate 
• expire 
• fade 
• flee 
• fly 
• go 
• leave 
• melt 
• perish 
• recede 
• retire 
• retreat 
• sink