to go out the window
21
7.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
irse al traste
- When the surprise announcement was made, all my plans went out the window.
- just went out the window
- rules went out the window
- stuff goes out the window
And yet all of that went out the window because people panicked.
- And yet all of that went out the window because people panicked.
- Things like logic literally seem to go out the window because nothing you do works.
- So one of the first things that went out the window was my morning meditation because child.
- And for some reason, when we get to work, those skills seem to go out the window.
- Your mistakes are affronts to them, and then the damned insight goes out the window.
- And you know how that ends, you know, constant, constant partying, money going out the window.
- It's right back to always the rage, the anger, the contempt, and all the mindfulness lessons go out the window.
- I don't think it's really gone out the window, but the news reports are all about these companies that some of them have never made a profit.
- We have the laptop at the dinner table trying to finish up what we need to do, and all of our routines are disturbed, so sleep goes out the window.
- So that that whole situation, that engagement went out the window.
- But on a self emissive display, that all goes out the window.
- But I'm just saying, I think the bra is going out the window.
- Like they're just people just like us that all went out the window when this started and why, I have no idea.
- As soon as you said yes, it goes out the window because that's the kind of guy I am.
Examples
-
All those things go out the window when we leave the protection of the U.S.
Blog text (1) -
All the rules went out the window when they decided to shut down this Roach Motel.
Fiction book (2002) -
And once that starts, reason goes out the window.
-
Something is working there, but a lot of the meaning is going out the window.
-
Oh, I see how it is, as soon as the boss lady leaves, all the rules go out the window, do they?
-
Hey, that old system went out the window a long time ago!
Fiction book (1995) -
I think once it becomes all about making money, then quality goes out the window.
Blog text (27) -
All my little rules about being pure went out the window.
-
I think once he became violent, planning went out the window.
-
And yet all of that went out the window because people panicked.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To stop being seen or to no longer be there
463
1.0
To stop being seen or felt
18
5.5
Plans or hopes suddenly fail and disappear for good
5
6.9
To stop being used or followed
Antonyms
How Important
∞
1.4
- Informal
21
7.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The figurative meaning is motivated by the literal image of something 'going out' through a 'window', so a learner who knows 'go', 'out' and 'window' can plausibly infer that something is lost or discarded. However, the specific idiomatic sense — that a plan or possibility is suddenly disregarded or becomes irrelevant — and its conventional usage are not fully predictable from the parts alone, so prior exposure is usually needed.
Etymology
The idiom go out the window comes from the image of something being thrown out through a window so it suddenly disappears from the room. That's why it means a plan or idea has been 'lost' or is 'no longer considered'.