Go Belly Up

Meaning Of Idiom ‘Go Belly Up’

1. Of a business, to fail completely; to go bankrupt. 1Bengelsdorf, Peter. Idioms in the News – 1,000 Phrases, Real Examples. N.p.: Amz Digital Services, 2012.,2Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.,3Ayto, John. [http://amzn.to/2vdGvI7 Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms]. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010.

2. Of a plan or situation, to not go as intended; to fail to come to fruition. 4go belly up. Cambridge English Thesaurus. Cambridge University Press. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/thesaurus/go-belly-up

3. To die (rare)

Note that the term belly up is not used in this sense without the verb ‘go,’ although it was used this way in the past. Today, belly up, used as a verb is used in phrases such as ‘belly up to the bar’ meaning to approach the bar and sit at it (i.e. bring one’s belly close to an object).

The term belly up, or the phrase go belly up, is not often used in normal English to refer to someone’s death, at least not in polite company.

Similar Idioms

• go pear-shaped
• bite the dust

Sentence Examples

“My business went belly up a few years ago but I’m not upset about it. It was constant stress.”

“The company is about to go belly-up so I’m getting out while I can.”

“Most restaurants go belly up within the first few years.”

“We have solid information that the Packard sawmill is going to go belly up within a year.” — Twin Peaks: Pilot (1990)

“The problem they run into was that Louisianans only drink Lipton. 18 months later, nature boys go belly-up, can’t pay their taxes.” — True Blood: Who Are You, Really? (2013)

“Buffy blows into town and puts you in a permanent funk and I’m supposed to stand and watch our business go belly-up?” — Angel: Hero (1999)

Origin

Used since the early 1900s, the idiom ‘go belly up’ alludes to how fish and some other aquatic animals turn on their backs, with their bellies facing up, when dead. 5Bengelsdorf, Peter. Idioms in the News – 1,000 Phrases, Real Examples. N.p.: Amz Digital Services, 2012.,6Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.