# "Down and Out" Origin/Literal Meaning

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-and-out-origin-literal-meaning/332294>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 22, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-and-out-origin-literal-meaning/332294 "2005-11-22T18:44:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jawdirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@jawdirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jawdirk)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-and-out-origin-literal-meaning/332294/1 "2005-11-22T18:44:02Z")

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The phrase “down and out” means something like as low as you can get. No money, no friends, and probably struggling with an addiction.

But what sense of “down” and what sense of “out?”

“Down” could be “down on your luck,” “down on the ground,” “down the cash,” depressed, or “coming down.”

“Out” could be “Out of luck,” “out of money,” “out of style,” “out of drugs,” or “out on the street.”

Maybe the only way to settle this is by finding the origin of the phrase. But maybe there is some segment of society that actually knows what the words mean when they are saying “down and out?”

Apologies if this has been done – I had no luck searching for “down” and “out.”

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**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-and-out-origin-literal-meaning/332294/2 "2005-11-22T19:16:43Z")

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I always assumed boxing. You have been hit hard enough to not only knock you down but render you unconscious, and you ain’t rising to your feet to fight no more.

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**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/down-and-out-origin-literal-meaning/332294/3 "2005-11-22T20:52:36Z")

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Yep, boxing. Kinda like “Down for the count.”