English

Verb

go to the wall

1. (idiomatic) To make an all-out effort.

   He'll be the one who goes to the wall when it's needed.

   He's always been willing to go to the wall for his friends.

   That was the one point he was willing to go to the wall on.

2. (idiomatic) To fail, to run out of options. (especially of a business)
   • 2012, The Economist, Oct 13th 2012, Iran and its currency crisis: A comeback for the reformers?

     That may be cold comfort for the many import-reliant businesses that have gone to the wall as a result of the rial’s recent plunge of 40% against the dollar [...]

3. To be put aside or forgotten.
4. To take an extreme and determined position or measure

Usage notes

• In the meaning, "to make an all-out effort", go to the wall is used with for ‎(“on behalf of”) and on ‎(“about"," concerning”) and other synonymous prepositions.

Related terms

• have one's back to the wall
• retreat to the wall

See also

• up against the wall

References

• Go to the wall, at The Word Detective
• "Heavens to Betsy" by Charles Earle Funk (1955, Harper & Row, New York).

  Quoted at The Phrase Finder