tail off

Related to tail off: scut, turn tail, come in handy

tail off

To dwindle, diminish, or fade away; to become fainter or weaker. His campaign started really strong, but public support for the candidate tailed off following a series of scandals. The lights on the car began tailing off into the blackness of the night, leaving me alone in the empty field. He started talking about the tax code, but he tailed off when he realized no one was listening.
See also: off, tail
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

tail off

to dwindle to nothing. The number of people filing for unemployment insurance is beginning to tail off. As the storms tailed off, we began to realize how much damage had been done.
See also: off, tail
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

tail off

Also, tail away. Diminish gradually, subside, as in The fireworks tailed off into darkness. [Mid-1800s]
See also: off, tail
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • tail away
  • trail away
  • trail off
  • peter out
  • gutter
  • gutter out
  • tail down
  • die away
  • waste away
  • do a fade
References in periodicals archive
There have been a spate of shootings in Birmingham in the past six months, although the launch of Operation Ventara by the police to target Yardies and gun crime has seen the number of incidents tail off.
Emergency surgery for gun victim
Blank.' My man Paul here, [Paul Gordon, the building's manager] is my ambassador to the tenants, and he works his tail off.
400 Madison Avenue: Ask for it by name
But while removing AIDS-tainted blood will stop new blood-related transmission, the incidence of blood-associated AIDS is expected to tail off slowly, since AIDS can appear more than five years after receipt of contaminated blood(SN:5/25/85, p.
AIDS blood test: qualified success
Katie Priceis said to have been left devastated after her guard dog reportedly bit the tail off her pet cat.
Katie Price devastated as guard dog 'bites tail off her pet cat'; Former glamour girl Katie Price is said to be bringing in a pet counsellor to help diffuse the tensions between her animals after the attack
Bagunas then worked his tail off in the defensive end, rising up to deny Arnold Bautista for the winner.
NU repulses UST, returns to UAAP men's volleyball finals
Coventry breeder Lee Coulson claimed that the thugs had attempted to cut the puppy's ears and tail off. He said it was "terrifying to think what that poor dog went through".
Dog stolen and killed by thugs