off the rails

Idioms  

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]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

off the rails

Of course, Mackey said, there’s no guarantee that the A.I. won’t go off the rails.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

An upbeat tournament suddenly feels a little off the rails.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

Now, they are off the rails and Robinson has not been seen since.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

Strauss regularly goes off the rails in his exaggerations, but with Dudamel there are no railing critics or anything thing else, not that he doesn’t have cause.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

Maybe it went off the rails somewhere, though, because now Morgan’s putting the keyboard away and Anna’s texting her mom to pick her up.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli