on the skids

1. In the process of decline or ruin, as in If she quit now, her career would be on the skids. The skids here are runners such as those on a sled, enabling one to go downhill quickly. [c. 1920]

Example Sentences

To be “on the skids” was to be destitute.

From Los Angeles Times

With Trump back in the White House and the economy on the skids, Democrats will surely brush off their familiar playbook and seek to turn the governor’s race into a referendum on the unpopular president.

From Los Angeles Times

Blake was convinced that art had been on the skids since the mid-16th century, when worldly Titian and the Venetian painters rose to prominence, so he set about trying to put things right.

From Los Angeles Times

But Logan Sargeant’s rookie season with Williams has been seemingly on the skids ever since, with a series of expensive crashes and dismal results that have some wondering if that future is careening toward a quick end.

From Seattle Times

“They turned around and jumped on the aircraft. A couple were sitting on the skids. One was sitting on the rocket pods, and I don’t know where the other one was, but they beat on the side of the ship twice, which meant haul a—. And we did!”

From Washington Times

Related Words

• calamity 
• catastrophe 
• crunch 
• difficulty 
• disaster 
• hard times www.thesaurus.com
• hardship 
• misery 
• misfortune 
• mishap 
• sorrow 
• suffering 
• trouble