down the drain

1. On the way to being lost or wasted; disappearing. For example, Buying new furniture when they can't take it with them is just pouring money down the drain, or During the Depression huge fortunes went down the drain. This metaphoric term alludes to water going down a drain and being carried off. [Colloquial; c. 1920] For a synonym, see down the tubes.

Example Sentences

“Let us not forget what this political theater is costing us all — millions of taxpayer dollars down the drain and an atrophy to the readiness of guardsmembers across the nation and unnecessary hardships to the families supporting those troops,” Newsom said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times

We do, chimed in Rebecca Willi, 74, a retired hospice worker, but “all the things we stand for are going down the drain,” and if the redistricting in Texas goes forward, “we have to offset it because there is too much at stake.”

From Los Angeles Times

She said flat owners' and taxpayers' money had gone "down the drain", adding: "We've been totally drained for years."

From BBC

"It's just a tonne of water going down the drain."

From BBC

“With Trump it isn't that they're just delighted with him, but they view him as the only alternative. They think that the country is going down the drain and their kids are being taught all kinds of things in elementary school that they don't like. They think the left is just shoving the rest of the country into the arms of Donald Trump.”

From Salon