go down for the third time

go down for the third time

Fig. to be just on the verge of failing. (From the notion that a boxer who is knocked down three times in one round normally loses the fight.) I was going down for the third time when I thought of a plan that would save my job.

See also: down, for, go, third, time

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.