go to the bow-wows

English

Verb

go to the bow-wows (third-person singular simple present goes to the bow-wows, present participle going to the bow-wows, simple past went to the bow-wows, past participle gone to the bow-wows)

1. (dated, idiomatic, informal) To go to the dogs, to decline or deteriorate.
   • 1896, Arthur G. Burgoyne, “Timon of Athens” in Shakespeare Up to Date, and Other Latter-Day Lyrics, Pittsburg: T. W. Nevin, p. 16,^[1]

     With lavish hand his cash he spent,

     And with lightning speed to the bow-wows went

     And into the gutter fell.

   • 1912, James Oneal, Militant Socialism, Saint Louis: The National RipSaw Publishing Co., p. 28,^[2]

     The robber barons of the Middle Ages were perfectly sure that civilization would go to the bow-wows if they were interfered with.

   • 1928, Dorothy L. Sayers, “The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach” in A Treasury of Sayers Stories, London: Victor Gollancz, 1961, p. 288,^[3]

     His father died a couple of years ago—he was a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh—and I fancy Robert has rather gone to the bow-wows since then. Got among a cheerful crowd down there, don't you know, and wasted his substance somewhat.

Usage notes

Current from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. Frequent variants are go to the damnation bow-wows and the euphemistic go to the demnition bow-wows.