go to the wall
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From a fight or military retreating until they cannot escape; see have one's back to the wall and retreat to the wall doctrine in common law.
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb[edit]
go to the wall (third-person singular simple present goes to the wall, present participle going to the wall, simple past went to the wall, past participle gone to the wall)
- (idiomatic) To make an all-out effort.
- He'll be the one who goes to the wall when it's needed.
- He's always been willing to go to the wall for his friends.
- That was the one point he was willing to go to the wall on.
- (idiomatic) To fail, to run out of options. (especially of a business)
- 2012 October 13, “Iran and its currency crisis: A comeback for the reformers?”, in The Economist:
- That may be cold comfort for the many import-reliant businesses that have gone to the wall as a result of the rial’s recent plunge of 40% against the dollar [...]
- To be put aside or forgotten.
- To take an extreme and determined position or measure.
Usage notes[edit]
- In the sense "to make an all-out effort", go to the wall is used with for (“on behalf of”) and on (“about"," concerning”) and other synonymous prepositions.
Related terms[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- Go to the wall, at The Word Detective
- "Heavens to Betsy" by Charles Earle Funk (1955, Harper & Row, New York). Quoted at The Phrase Finder
- “go to the wall”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.