A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

go below • go under
go below —(Nautical) go to the lower (underwater) levels in
a ship: Nora and I went below to our bunks to make our beds
and settle in before the ship left the channel.
go under —
1
. (of a person or ship) go below the surface of the
sea: Our boat went under in no time at all. Some time later
the submarine approached us, spraying machine gun tracer
bullets…. 2. (of a business) fail: A few weeks before the com-
pany went under he checked to see if his pension was safe. 3.
lose consciousness under the action of anesthesia, etc.: No one
trained in administering anesthesia was dedicated to that task
alone in his operating room as she went under.
See also: come down / go down.
go broke • go for broke
go broke —lose money and so be unable to continue in busi-
ness: The paper was going broke and would cease publica-
tion.
go for broke —use every possible effort; resort to extreme
measures to achieve smth.: He decided to go for broke and
put his reputation and job on the line.
– 147 –
go broke

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go bust • go on the bust
go bust—(sl.) become bankrupt: Many hard working people
have lost their homes because they have lost their jobs or
because their businesses have gone bust.
go on the bust—(sl.) engage in noisy merrymaking (also: go
a bust): There was a slight probability of some of the party
going “on the bust” after three months’ teetotalism.
go by the board • go overboard
go by the board —
1
. (also: come by the board) fall into the
water from a ship: The ship gave a tremendous roll … and
the mast went by the board. 2. said of an idea or an activity
no longer practiced (often with the implication of regret): Now,
within recent years the old materialism of our fathers has gone
by the board.
go overboard —
1
. = go by the board 
1
: During the storm a lot
of the deck cargo went overboard. 2. (coll.) lose one’s senses;
go mad: My uncle has been acting very strangely recently; the
family think he may have gone overboard. 3. be very enthu-
siastic about smth.; do more than is necessary: Many teachers
have gone overboard for the new methods without considering
their worth.