Street voices
Hugues
·
United States
"Rock bottom. When things have gotten so, so bad that they could not get any worse. Aw man, it's so sad what happened to Rick. Like, he got fired from his job, his wife left him, and took the kids, and now he's got no money, so he's gonna get evicted from his place. Like, talk about hitting rock bottom, yeah?"
What it means
Means the absolute lowest point, when life has gone so sideways you cannot imagine it getting any worse. People use it for money trouble, heartbreak, addiction, failure, or any full blown personal collapse. It often shows up with hit rock bottom, which makes it sound like your life just fell through the floor and found a basement.
Usage examples
"Rick got fired, lost his apartment, and his ex took the kids. Man really hit rock bottom, like life was out here curb stomping him for sport."
"After the third knockback in a week she reckoned she'd hit rock bottom, then the car wouldn't start."
"The team was at rock bottom of the table by November, no wins and a manager already sweating."
"I thought I was just having a rough month, then my card got declined for a meal deal. Proper rock bottom stuff."
"He said the band had hit rock bottom when they were playing to six people and two of them were bar staff."
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Where it comes from
It comes from mining and drilling talk, where rock bottom was the solid layer at the very base. By the 19th century people were already using it figuratively for the lowest possible point. Hit rock bottom keeps that same crash-stop image, like you've dropped as far as life can dump you.
Editors of this term
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