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Glite Dictionary
sinking ship

sinking ship

10 4.8
A project or organization that is failing and likely to collapse
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : barco que se hunde
  • We're rats on a sinking ship, and we need to find a way off.
  • rat leaving a sinking ship
  • leave the sinking ship
  • desert a sinking ship

I, I think I'm a, a sinking ship right now and I would respect you like we're cool.

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Examples

  • We're well beyond plugging holes and bailing cans to right our sinking ship of a country.

    Blog text (7)

  • Joining a company that is clearly a sinking ship might not be a wise decision.

  • The campaign team is trying to save themselves and their careers from a sinking ship.

    Blog text (8)

  • The thing about turning around a sinking ship is that you first have to plug the holes.

    Blog text (27)

  • We're on a sinking ship, Uta.

    The Women (2008)

  • I can't believe I let you talk me into joining this sinking ship.

    Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)

  • Don't go down with the sinking ship; you will look very foolish for supporting this cover-up.

    Blog text (4)

  • The financial report revealed that the organization was a sinking ship destined for failure.

  • Despite their efforts, the project turned out to be a sinking ship that no one could save.

Synonyms

flop
vssinking ship
44 4.3

A project or event that does not succeed

is the failing situation likely to collapse rather than just a one time failure
lost cause
vssinking ship
39 4.9

Something that has no chance of success

focuses on a current failing situation likely to collapse rather than permanent hopelessness
total shitbucket
vssinking ship
  • Offensive
9.9

A project, event, or thing that fails very badly

is the neutral metaphor for a failing operation rather than crude slang
abyss of failure
vssinking ship
8.6

A very deep feeling that you cannot succeed and have no hope

describes a collapsing enterprise rather than an extreme, poetic state

Antonyms

success
∞ 1.0

Getting what you want after working hard

prosperous
83 4.1

Doing well and having a lot of money

How Successful

sinking ship
  • Informal
10 4.8
lost cause
39 4.9

Surface Forms

sinking ship singular
sinking ships plural

Morphology

sinking + ship

The metaphorical meaning 'a failing project or organization' is directly and predictably derived from the literal image of a ship that is sinking: 'sinking' (falling/going under) applied to 'ship' maps transparently onto a failing enterprise. This is a conventional, cross-linguistically common metaphor, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

The phrase sinking ship comes from the image of a boat that is sinking and going down, so people jump off the ship to save themselves. That's why we call a failing project or organization a sinking ship, because it means something is 'failing' or likely to 'collapse'.