Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,725,274,213 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

go off the rails

    0.02 sec.
go off the rails  (informal)
to start behaving strangely or in a way that is not acceptable to society He went off the rails in his twenties and started living on the streets. By the law of probabilities if you have five kids, one of them's going to go off the rails.
See also: rail

go off the rails also run off the rails
to be spoiled by bad management Things were going off the rails here, and no one was getting any work done. This is a well-intentioned system that has been run off the rails.
Etymology: from the idea of a train leaving the rails (metal bars) it travels on
See also: rail


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
? References in periodicals archive
On the issue of Rumsfeld's secret spy powers, Feingold told The Progressive: "When the Executive Branch starts acting without oversight from the elected representatives of the American people in Congress, a fundamental principle of our system of government is abandoned, and policy starts to go off the rails.
 
Idioms browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Idioms and phrases
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.