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

come down

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come down in the last shower • come out in the
wash
come down in the last shower —(Irish coll., usually negat.) be
naive and gullible: I’m sorry to disappoint you, if you expect
me to take your work seriously, but unfortunately for you I
didn’t come down in the last shower.
come out in the wash —
1
. (of the truth) be revealed or become
clear later: The impression is being created that everything
will come out in the wash within the inquiry and that people
will be found guilty or not guilty. 2. (of a situation) be resolved
or put right eventually, especially without intervention: “I
thought everything was going to be all right….” “Don’t worry,
old girl, it’ll all come out in the wash.”
come down on someone • come down to someone
come down on someone —
1
. demand smth. firmly from a per-
son: Things looked good until the State came down on me for
sales tax. 2. reprimand or criticize a person severely: Many
people came down on me for publishing my book.
come down to someone —be passed on to smb.: This photo,
which came down to me from my uncle, shows Benjamin
Rollings outside his house.
See also: come up to something / go up to something.
come down on someone like a ton of bricks • hit
someone like a ton of bricks
come down on someone like a ton of bricks —(coll.) reprimand
or punish a person severely: If I find you misbehaving, I’ll
come down on you like a ton of bricks.
hit someone like a ton of bricks —(coll.) make a person feel
an unpleasant emotion very strongly: He said something that
sounded innocent to him, but it hit Debbie like a ton of
bricks.
come down to earth • go to earth
come down to earth —(also: come back to earth) stop day-
dreaming; return to practical realities (especially unpleasant):
Now, Virgie, come down to earth and give me the low-down.
What’s happened to Mrs. Bedford’s diamonds?
go to earth —(also: go to ground) go into hiding; put oneself
out of sight: The policeman … turned back to assist his col-
leagues in finding Barbury, so mysteriously gone to earth.
See also: drop from the skies / fall to the ground.