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(Cockney rhyming slang) to go wrong or badly
What does "to go Pete Tong" mean in Cockney rhyming slang?
The structure uses the rhyming pair "Pete Tong" (the name of a British DJ) to stand for "wrong," following the typical Cockney pattern of replacing a word with a phrase that rhymes with it. It is used in Cockney rhyming slang (London, UK) to mean that something has gone badly or incorrectly, often in the phrase "it's all gone Pete Tong." People typically say "The wedding reception went Pete Tong" or "My plans have gone a bit Pete Tong." The term originated in the late 1980s or 1990s, named after the BBC Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong, and has since become a widely recognized modern addition to Cockney rhyming slang.
