downhill all the way

1. Bad and steadily worsening. Once my parents opened my report card and saw how bad my grades were, it was downhill all the way—not a great night for me. I'm worried about Uncle Al with that terrible cough of his. If he doesn't go to the doctor soon, it could be downhill all the way for him. Mom knows I snuck out last night? Aw man, it's downhill all the way for me then!

2. Increasingly easy (as if one is literally traveling downhill, as opposed to uphill). I'm sure I can finish the rest of the experiment on my own—it's downhill all the way. I know we've been driving for a long time, but once we get on route 78, it's downhill all the way—only an hour to the hotel. The hardest part of the repair is over, don't worry. Now, it's downhill all the way.

downhill all the way

Also, all downhill from here.

1. Easy from this point, without obstacles the rest of the way. For example, Once we had the basic design, it was downhill all the way.

2. Deteriorating or declining from this point on, as in When the cancer couldn't be removed, it was downhill all the way for him. The usage therefore needs to be clarified by the context to indicate which of these opposite meaning is intended. The figurative use of downhill dates from the late 1500s. Also see go downhill.

downhill all the way

all downhill from here

COMMON

1. If a situation is downhill all the way or all downhill from here it continues to get worse until it ends. She came home, but it was downhill all the way. Cancer, I think. Now that I'm 50, it's all downhill from here. Note: You can also say that something is all downhill from there. The opening of the movie is great. Sadly, it's all downhill from there.

2. If a task is downhill all the way or all downhill from here, the most difficult part has been done and it is easier from that point. I had thought that once we reached halfway we would feel that it was downhill all the way now, but it didn't seem to work like that. With this game out of the way, it's all downhill from here because the remaining matches will be easy.