hit the skids
idiom
informal
: to begin to fail or get worse very suddenly and quickly
After he was injured his career hit the skids.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
More borrowers are likely to hit the skids on their car loans this year.
—
Telis Demos, WSJ, 20 Jan. 2023
The same couldn’t be said for his counterpart, Kirk Cousins, who started with a 6-for-6 performance on his opening touchdown for a 7-0 lead and then hit the skids, completing only 14 of 32 attempts the rest of the way.
—cleveland, 4 Oct. 2021
Sadly, the group’s longtime label Tommy Boy Records started to hit the skids shortly after the release of Bionix, limiting promotional efforts and cutting the AOI trilogy short after two installments.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 16 Feb. 2023
As good as things looked for New England through two-plus quarters, the Patriots have hit the skids.
—Christopher Price, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Sep. 2022
The spinning machines shut down, moved offshore, and Blackburn hit the skids in the 1970s, a poster child for destitute Britain.
—Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2022
When the effort hit the skids in 2017, then-Chief Executive Richard Robinson sent in Iole Lucchese to put it on track.
—Shalini Ramachandran, WSJ, 12 Jan. 2022
The Trojans hit the skids even before ASU did with a 42-28 loss to Stanford the second game of the season, resulting in the firing of coach Clay Helton and the elevation of Donte Williams to interim head coach.
—Michelle Gardner, The Arizona Republic, 1 Nov. 2021
California stays the course Not all climate and energy proposals hit the skids with Tuesday's results.
—Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 4 Nov. 2010
See More
Telis Demos, WSJ, 20 Jan. 2023
The same couldn’t be said for his counterpart, Kirk Cousins, who started with a 6-for-6 performance on his opening touchdown for a 7-0 lead and then hit the skids, completing only 14 of 32 attempts the rest of the way.
—cleveland, 4 Oct. 2021
Sadly, the group’s longtime label Tommy Boy Records started to hit the skids shortly after the release of Bionix, limiting promotional efforts and cutting the AOI trilogy short after two installments.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 16 Feb. 2023
As good as things looked for New England through two-plus quarters, the Patriots have hit the skids.
—Christopher Price, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Sep. 2022
The spinning machines shut down, moved offshore, and Blackburn hit the skids in the 1970s, a poster child for destitute Britain.
—Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2022
When the effort hit the skids in 2017, then-Chief Executive Richard Robinson sent in Iole Lucchese to put it on track.
—Shalini Ramachandran, WSJ, 12 Jan. 2022
The Trojans hit the skids even before ASU did with a 42-28 loss to Stanford the second game of the season, resulting in the firing of coach Clay Helton and the elevation of Donte Williams to interim head coach.
—Michelle Gardner, The Arizona Republic, 1 Nov. 2021
California stays the course Not all climate and energy proposals hit the skids with Tuesday's results.
—Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 4 Nov. 2010
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hit the skids.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hit the skids
Cite this Entry
“Hit the skids.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hit%20the%20skids. Accessed 7 Jun. 2023.
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