1No longer working or likely to be useful or successful.
‘his petrol gauge is up the spout’
‘Now, with the roads clogged, the trains up the spout and hot desking presenting a daily strain of competing for your actual workstation, the thought of staying at home to work has never been more appealing.’
‘Of course, the alternative is that the authorities turn a blind eye to drug use in brothels, and then your whole criminal justice system goes up the spout.’
‘By the time you have eventually caught one, appointments in town have been missed and one's careful planning for the day has gone up the spout.’
‘The internet access at work was up the spout almost all day.’
‘Plan A went up the spout in eight minutes with Jason Price's seventh goal in six games since joining from Brentford, who thought he was a defender.’
‘Some of them are half way through their course and their qualifications will go up the spout.’
‘Indeed, right now, there are tens of thousands of people unable to indulge in a little online flirting - and all because MSN's service is up the spout.’
‘The publisher's ability to fill those orders is up the spout - they're having to ship directly from printer to bookshop.’
3(of a bullet or cartridge) in the barrel of a gun and ready to be fired.
‘Fully loaded with its seven-round magazine, plus one up the spout, the P - 32 weighs a feathery 9.4 ounces, yet packs respectable firepower that can be unleashed with a pull of its DAO trigger.’
‘There's a full mag and empty chamber, and I recommend one up the spout until we cross the river.’
‘Any time an armed officer perceived sufficient danger to draw the gun, he or she would chamber a round if there wasn't one up the spout already.’
‘And keep the safety catch off and a round up the spout.’
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