Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a fall from grace, a humiliating decline in one’s material circumstances; cite 1908 refers to the person who has thus declined [SE in 20C+].

1840		R.H. Dana Two Years Ch. xxviii: This was indeed a come-down from the highest seat in the synagogue to a seat in the gallery.
1871		H.B. Stowe Sam Lawson’s Oldtown Fireside Stories (1881) 211: Well, Lordy Massy, folks that is so chipper and high steppin’ has to hev their come downs.
1879		J. Payn ‘An Aunt by Marriage’ in High Spirits I 301: It would be a dreadful come-down.
1886		Eve. News (Sydney) 15 May 7/5: What a come down! There was I; who had been looking forward to being an author, reduced to a body snatcher.
1900		Ade More Fables in Sl. (1960) 134: He would set out the Goods in a Manner that showed it to be something of a Come-Down for him to be compelled to Wait on Outsiders.
1908		A.N. Lyons Arthur’s 127: I seemed to see a ‘come-down’ of the clerk variety lurking somewhere on the outskirts of the crowd. His skin was yellow and his body shrunk.
1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 86/2: Come-down (Common Life). Disaster, ruin, degradation, humiliation, e.g., ‘What, no bonnet! What a come-down; an’ I knoo ’er mum when she ’ad six of everything.’.
1917		Wodehouse ‘ The Making of Mac’s’ in Man with Two Left Feet 122: It was a come-down in the world for me.
1927		C. Woofter ‘Dialect Words and Phrases from West-Central West Virginia’ in AS II:8 351: That will be quite a come down for him.
1937		D.L. Sayers Busman’s Honeymoon (1974) 193: It’ll be a sad come-down for Aggie Twitterton.
1949		W.R. Burnett Asphalt Jungle in Four Novels (1984) 231: It was a terrible comedown [...] to call in a penny-pinching, ledger-banging little character to save him.
1953		J. Thompson Savage Night (1991) 6: It must be quite a comedown for her, living like she has to now.
1963		H.S. Thompson letter 25 Oct. in Proud Highway (1997) 407: Talk about come-downs.
1978		D. Marechera House of Hunger (2013) [ebook] And he got himself all mixed up about a West Indian girl who worked in the kitchen [...] such a ‘comedown’ was to say the least shattering.
1979		‘Iceberg Slim’ Airtight Willie and Me 74: It was a come down all right, from the glamorous high gloss of cribs prior.
1985		A. Payne ‘Minder on the Orient Express’ Minder [TV script] 144: Jack South an Arsenal fan? What a come-down.
1993		I. Welsh Trainspotting 312: Who want tae shag a one-legged cunt? Ah’ll huv tae pey fir it; a big come-doon fir the White Swan.

2. (US black) a bad situation, esp. an embarrassing one.

1958

Murtagh & Harris Cast the First Stone 25: Sally must have felt [...] that it was a come-down for a white girl to live with a black man.

3. (drugs) of drugs, negative emotional after-effects; also in fig. use; also attrib.

1965		S. Yurick Warriors (1966) 78: They were down [...] getting those empty-pocket, come-down shakes.
1967		Oz 2 13/2: Although technically ‘mild stimulants’ when taken in overdoses the comedown [i.e. from drinamyl] is unpleasant.
1973		(con. mid-1960s) J. Patrick Glasgow Gang Observed 124: All feared ‘the horrors’ [...] and the common practice was to save one pill for the ‘coom-down’.
1984		C. White Life and Times of Little Richard 159: Facing the dark side of the come-downs.
1999		Guardian Guide 10–16 July 24: A truly rotten E comedown.
2004		N. ‘Razor’ Smith A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun 5: I was really feeling the come-down. My hands were shaking, my guts churning.
2007		J. Frantzen Discomfort Zone 130: I wasn’t liking college much — it was a comedown from high school in every way.
2010		L. Redhead Thrill City [ebook] I’d get out of this, and if I didn’t? Shit. No comedown to worry about.
2015		N. Cummins Tales of the Honey Badger [ebook] [T]he only way to beat the coffee comedowns was to keep drinking the bastards till the coffee pot ran dry.
2017		L. McInerney Blood Miracles : The comedown takes hold over the half-buzz of Ryan’s puny spliff.

4. (drugs) painful physical withdrawal from drug use; also attrib.

1993		I. Welsh Trainspotting 16: Ah need the old ‘slowburn’, a soft come-down input.
2005		Strang & Gossop Heroin Addiction and the British System 55: They had little difficulty in recognising a ‘junkie’ in the streets, in recognising who was [...] ‘stoned’ and who was experiencing withdrawal or a ‘comedown’.
2010		K. Richards Life 360: They’ve [i.e. junkies] built up a tolerance in amazing proportions, which is why the comedown is so heavy.
2019		P. Baker Fabulosa 297/1: randy comedown a desire to have sex after the effect of taking drugs starts to wear off.

5. (Aus.) a dull, conventional individual.

1999

R.G. Barrett Wind & Monkey (2013) [ebook] ‘Stop being such a fuckin square.’ ‘I think the expression Eddie, is: “A come down or a blank slate”.’.