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Go south

verb, slang

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To become unfavorable; to decrease; to take a turn for the worse. idiomatic

    "I should have walked away from the casino when my luck went south, but I stayed and ended up in the hole."

  2. 2
    To make an escape; to disappear. intransitive

    "He won! A disbeliever, from childhood, in the frequency of miracles, he gathered up seven hundred and forty dollars and "went south" with it."

  3. 3
    To give somebody oral sex. slang
  4. 4
    To rathole: to take chips off the table in a cash game without exiting the game completely, especially with the intention of limiting losses. slang

Etymology

(become worse): The origin is unclear. Common belief attributes it to the standard orientation of maps, where south is the downwards direction; in this regard, compare also go downhill, decline, and drop off. Alternatively, it could stem from a euphemism used by some Native Americans for dying.

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