1
general::
Phrase(s): on the skids
Sl. on the decline. • My newly started business is on the skids. • Her health is really on the skids, but she stays cheery anyway.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
In the process of decline or ruin, as in If she quit now, her career would be on the skids. The skids here are runners such as those on a sled, enabling one to go downhill quickly. [c. 1920]
American Heritage Idioms