toast, to be

To be in serious trouble; to be ruined, finished, or defeated. If Mom and Dad find out we took their car out last night, we're toast! Down by 45 points with only two minutes left in the game, it's pretty safe to say that the home team is toast at this point.

If someone is toast, they are about to lose their job or position or are about to be punished or killed. Her only comment on his dismissal was: `I told you he was toast.' If you don't do what they say, you're toast.

To be doomed or unworthy of further consideration. This slangy usage dates from the twentieth century. It can be applied to a person, a group, an idea, a project, and so on. It must be distinguished from being the toast of something, such as “the toast of the Academy Awards,” which means a person receiving much acclaim. In contrast, “With so many injured players, our team is toast this year” means the team cannot win. According to Bob Woodward’s book Plan of Attack (2004), Vice President Dick Cheney said, before the invasion of Iraq, “Prince Bandar, once we start, Saddam is toast.”