go south

3 definitions

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#1·11h ago

(idiomatic) To become unfavorable; to decrease; to take a turn for the worse.

I should have walked away from the casino when my luck went south, but I stayed and ended up in the hole.

Origin: (become worse): The origin is unclear. Common belief attributes it to the standard orientation of maps, where south is the downwards direction; in this regard, compare also go downhill, decline#Verb, and drop off. Alternatively, it could stem from a euphemism used by some Native Americans for dying. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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#2·11h ago

(intransitive) To make an escape; to disappear.

1967, Bill Sparks, Wild Weasel mission 5 November 1967

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#3·11h ago

(slang) To give somebody oral sex.

: I still had 5 miles (8 km) or so to go to cross the river when all of the controls went south. The bird pitched up, shuddered, rolled right like it was going to spin

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