bottom falls out

A phrase used to describe something that ends or goes awry abruptly. Work quickly to close that deal—the boss will be furious if the bottom falls out at the last minute. If the bottom falls out of the stock market, we could have another Great Depression ahead of us. When digital cameras arrived on the scene, the bottom sure fell out for film cameras, huh?

The value of something reaches an extreme low point or collapses entirely. If the bottom falls out of the housing market, I'll have to sell the house for a significant loss. The CEO is being investigated for insider trading because she cashed out over $200 million in stocks just before the bottom fell out.