go down the drain
先ほどの記事と同じく、オレゴン大学とスタンフォード大学の試合について取り上げた記事です。http://d.hatena.ne.jp/A30/20131109/1383990866
No. 6 Stanford stifles No. 2 Oregon 26-20
Once again, Nerd Nation has beaten Team Nike, left it wondering how many more monuments to excess it needs to build, how many more uniform combinations or millions in facilities it will need to finally get the ultimate prize. Because after No. 6 Stanford's 26-20 victory against No. 2 Oregon on Thursday, a game not nearly as close as the score indicated, the question is now more obvious than ever.
If not now for the Ducks, when?
"It hurts just to see everything we worked for go down the drain," senior receiver Josh Huff said "Our heart is broken right now."
今回はgo down the drainに注目します。drainは名詞で「排水管,下水溝」という意味の他に、「消耗[枯渇]のもと」(『ウィズダム英和辞典 第二版』三省堂)という意味がありますが、ここではgo down the drainという形で、「〈俗〉お流れになる、無駄になる、失敗に終わる」(英辞郎 on the WEB)という意味で用いられています。英英でも調べてみると、"If work or money is or goes down the drain, it is spoiled or wasted"(Cambridge Dictionaries Online)と定義されています。(Astroriver)