go off-kilter

go off-kilter

1. To become out of equilibrium; to become not straight, level, or aligned properly; to be in a state of chaos or confusion. Between my divorce, the death of my best friend, and the financial troubles at work, it seems like everything in my life has gone off-kilter recently. The economies of nearly every country in the world went off-kilter after the economic collapse.
2. To stop working correctly or properly; to be or become out of order; to be out of w(h)ack. It sounds like your car's engine has gone a bit off-kilter. I'd recommend taking it to a mechanic before you go for any long drives.
See also: go
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • get off-kilter
  • get out of kilter
  • go out of kilter
  • addict
  • addict (one) to (something)
  • addict to
  • can of worms
  • can of worms, it's a/like opening a
  • a can of worms
  • get (one's) back up
References in periodicals archive
Saints' late, and somewhat fortuitous, victory against Crystal Palace on Tuesday evening got them back to winning ways after their remarkable season started to go off-kilter.
Saints head to Switzerland
Meticulously researched and argued, Stein's book challenges the precepts of ten years of increasingly accepted scientific "fact." It begins with a sympathetic look at current scientific theories of sexual orientation but quickly pinpoints where they go off-kilter. "Many studies assume that only homosexuality is in need of an explanation; in fact, how people develop heterosexual desires is just as much of a mystery," Stein says.
Blinded by science