go/run to seed

go to seed

To look shabby, unhealthy, or unattractive due to a lack of care or attention. Wow, Tim's really started going to seed ever since he had kids. The house has gone to seed with those college kids living there.
See also: go, seed

run to seed

To look shabby, unhealthy, or unattractive due to a lack of care or attention. Wow, Tim's really started running to seed ever since he had kids. The house has run to seed with those college kids living there.
See also: run, seed
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

go to seed

 
1. and run to seed Lit. [for a plant] to grow long enough to produce seed; [for a plant] to spend its energy going to seed. The lettuce went to seed and we couldn't eat it. Plants like that ought not to be allowed to go to seed.
2. and run to seed Fig. [for a lawn or a plant] to produce seeds because it has not had proper care. You've got to mow the grass. It's going to seed. Don't let the lawn go to seed. It looks so—seedy!
3. Fig. [for something] to decline in looks, status, or utility due to lack of care. (The same as run to seed.) This old coat is going to seed. Have to get a new one. The front of the house is going to seed. Let's get it painted.
See also: go, seed
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

run to seed

Also, go to seed. Become devitalized or worn out; deteriorate, as in I went back to visit my old elementary school, and sadly, it has really run to seed, or The gold medalist quickly went to seed after he left competition. This term alludes to plants that, when allowed to set seed after flowering, either taste bitter, as in the case of lettuce, or do not send out new buds, as is true of annual flowers. Its figurative use dates from the first half of the 1800s.
See also: run, seed
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

go to seed

or

run to seed

1. If someone goes to seed or runs to seed, they allow themselves to become fat, unhealthy and unattractive as they get older. He was big and fleshy, like an athlete gone to seed. Once he had carried a lot of muscle but now he was running to seed.
2. If a place goes to seed or runs to seed, it becomes dirty and untidy because people stop taking care of it. The report painted a depressing picture of an America going to seed, its bridges and roads falling apart, its national parks neglected. When she died, the house went to seed. Note: When vegetables such as lettuce go to seed, they produce flowers and seeds, and are no longer fit to eat.
See also: go, seed
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

go (or run) to seed

1 (of a plant) cease flowering as the seeds develop. 2 deteriorate in condition, strength, or efficiency.
See also: go, seed
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

go/run to ˈseed

(informal) (of a person) become untidy or dirty because you no longer care about your appearance, etc: I was very surprised when I saw her. She has really run to seed in the last few months.This idiom refers to the fact that when the flower in a plant dies, seeds are produced.
See also: go, run, seed
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • go to seed
  • run to seed, to
  • run to seed
  • grubbies
  • grubby
  • grub around in (something)
  • be not much to look at
  • not be much to look at
  • hellpig
  • down at the heels