go to the wall

1. Take an extreme position, hold out to the end. For example, The President went to the wall to defend his choice to head the FBI . For a synonym, see go to the mat .

2. Lose a conflict, be defeated; also, yield. For example, In spite of their efforts, they went to the wall , or When it's a matter of family versus friends, friends must go to the wall . [Late 1500s]

3. Fail in business, go bankrupt. For example, First one branch and then another did poorly, and the store finally went to the wall . [First half of 1800s]

Example Sentences

“Peter’s a young guy, got a good résumé, and I think has aspirations in the future and just kind of decided that this was not the year to go to the wall,” Mr. Hoekstra said.

From New York Times

Among things McCann planned to focus on: “Don’t go to the wall — just try to stay in the middle of the ice,” he said, laughing.

From Seattle Times

SANTANA: Everybody in this world needs a heartfelt hug to be reassured that we’re not going to be doomed hitting a brick wall, that we will go to the wall and we will succeed at becoming architects creating heaven on Earth.

From Seattle Times

"Just as we have done so far, we will go to the wall if it's about protecting our children," Varga said, adding that uphold the legislation was necessary and further measures would be taken.

From Reuters

Mayo has been a hot head coaching candidate in the past, and Belichick is known to go to the wall for those he really wants to keep.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• break
• close
• drop
• end
• finish