going to the wall

Verb

go to the wall (third-person singular simple present goes to the wall, present participle going to the wall, simple past went to the wall, past participle gone to the wall)

1. (idiomatic) To make an all-out effort.
   • He'll be the one who goes to the wall when it's needed.
2. (idiomatic) To fail, to run out of options. (especially of a business)
   • While he was doing his stories, and « getting on » in the world, Tevershall was going to the wall.1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter IX, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Germany?]: Privately printed, →OCLC, page 125
3. (idiomatic) To be put aside or forgotten.
4. (idiomatic) To take an extreme and determined position or measure.