come apart at the seams






come apart at the seams

(of a thing) fall to pieces

(of a person) have an emotional breakdown

Collapse – informal

Seams are the lines along which pieces of fabric or the planks of a boat are joined, perceived as the points most likely to be damaged or weakened.


Related Idioms :


as simple as they come

used to describe someone or something that is a supreme example of the quality specified

1991 - Daily Telegraph - The petrol-engined V-8 was as silky as they come.



come the leader

play the part of leader

behave like a leader – informal

1992 - Jeff Torrington - Swing Hammer Swing! - Don't come the innocent with me.



come the acid

Be unpleasant or offensive.

Speak in a caustic or sarcastic manner.



come clean

be completely honest and frank - informal



come in from the cold

gain acceptance – informal

1998 - New Scientist - Considering that the intracavity technique got off to such a slow start, it may, at last, have come in from the cold.



come it over

seek to impose on or to impress deceptively – informal



come it strong

go to excessive lengths

use exaggeration – informal



come of age

(Of a person) reach adult status.

(Of a movement or activity) become fully established.



come off it!

said when vigorously expressing disbelief – informal



come to grief

have an accident

meet with disaster

2000 - R. W. Holden - Taunton Cider & Langdons - The historian will see no trace of the battlefield where Charles's grandson, the Duke of Monmouth, came to grief.



come the old soldier over someone

seek to impose something on someone, especially on grounds of greater experience or age – informal



come to that = if it comes to that

said to introduce an additional significant point – informal

1998 - Martin Booth - The Industry of Souls - I am sure you would not wish your son to hear of his father's waywardness. Or your wife, come to that.



come to think of it

said when an idea or point occurs to you while you are speaking



come up smelling of roses

make a lucky escape from a difficult situation with your reputation intact – informal

The fuller form of this expression fall in the shit and come up smelling of roses explains the idea behind it.



too close for comfort

causing physical or mental unease by an excess of the specified quality

1994 - Janice Galloway - Foreign Parts - They were all too at peace with themselves, too untroubled for comfort.




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