1
general::
Phrase(s): take a bath
Go to take a shower., Phrase(s): take a bath (on something)
Sl. to accumulate large losses on a business transaction or an investment. (Alludes to getting soaked, a slang expression meaning "being heavily charged for something.") • Sally took a bath on that stock that she bought. Its price went down to nothing. • I’m afraid that I will take a bath on any investment I make.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Experience serious financial loss, as in The company took a bath investing in that new product. This idiom, which originated in gambling, transfers washing oneself in a bathtub to being "cleaned out" financially. [Slang; first half of 1900s]
American Heritage Idioms