go into a tailspin (redirected from tailspin)

go into a tailspin

to quickly become worse. The country's nickel industry went into a tailspin, with production falling for five years in a row. His career went into a tailspin when he joined the New York Mets.

Usage notes: sometimes used to describe someone's mental condition: I imagine the news sent Barry into a tailspin.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of tailspin (= a sudden fall by an aircraft in which the back points up and the aircraft turns around and around)