The phrase “go to pot” did not begin as a vague insult. It originally had a very literal meaning: to be put into a cooking pot. In earlier use, an animal that was no longer useful, because it was too old, weak, or unproductive, might “go to pot,” meaning it would be cooked and eaten.
From that image, the phrase developed a figurative meaning. If something goes to pot, it declines, deteriorates, or falls into a poor state. The idea is that something valuable or healthy has been reduced to a much worse condition.
- A neglected garden can go to pot.
- A business can go to pot after bad management.
- Someone might say a neighborhood has gone to pot if it has seriously deteriorated.
Today, most people use the expression figuratively, not literally. It is a vivid older idiom for decline, and it often carries a tone of disappointment or frustration.