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The wheels have come off

The wheels have come off

Meaning

Said when a previously promising enterprise goes irretrievably wrong.

Examples

It was pretty easy to get a loan in 2007, but the wheels came off the world banking system when they found out they had loaned out far too much.

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Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.
The wheels have come off

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