come undone

come undone (third-person singular simple present comes undone, present participle coming undone, simple past came undone, past participle come undone)

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see come,‎ undone; to become undone or unfastened.

   My shoelace came undone.

   • 1965, Ervin Drake (lyrics and music), “It Was a Very Good Year”, performed by Frank Sinatra:

     It was a very good year for city girls / Who lived up the stair / With all that perfumed hair / And it came undone / When I was twenty-one

   • 2007, “15 Step”, in In Rainbows, performed by Radiohead:

     You used to be alright / What happened? / Did the cat get your tongue? / Did your string come undone?

2. (colloquial) To become disintegrated, to break into parts or pieces.

   Synonym: fall apart

   • 1974, Donald Fagen, Walter Becker (lyrics and music), “Any Major Dude Will Tell You”, performed by Steely Dan:

     I never seen you looking so bad, my funky one / You tell me that your super fine mind has come undone

3. (figurative) To come to ruin, to fail. To lose (a person's) composure or self-control

   He came undone when his wife refused to support him.

   • 2019, 01:01:09.00 from the start, in Eugen Damaschin, director, Moldova 89-91, spoken by himself (Iurie Roșca), Moldova: MILK Films:

     "Ah, you Moldovans, how undone you came, you spit on holy things".

     English official subtitled translation from Russian original audio narration.

• come unstuck