ir de mal en peor

• camiñar de mal en peor, marchar de mal en peor

From Old Galician-Portuguese (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria). Literally, “to go from bad to worse”.

ir de mal en peor (first-person singular present vou de mal en peor, first-person singular preterite fun de mal en peor, past participle ido de mal en peor)

1. (idiomatic) to go from bad to worse; to worsen
   • 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 696:

     Et eu bẽ creo que se nõ pode esta frota tãto guardar que nõ rreçeba dãno per u for, de mal en peor, des aquí adeante.

     And I really believe that this fleet cannot be guarded enough from harm wherever it goes, from bad to worse, henceforth

   • 1909, Manuel Lugrís, Contos:

     — Sabio Sponto , — dixeronlle , — o goberno do reino vai de mal en pior. A terra está inzada de ladrós que no'nos deixan andare polos camiños. As nosas chousas, as nosas vidas non teñen xa seguranza... ¿Qué temos que facer?

     "Wise Spontus", they said, "the government of the Kingdom goes from bad to worse. The land is infested with thieves that won't allow us to travel the roads. Our properties, our lives, have no security... What should we do?".

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “de mal en peor”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “de mal en pe”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “ir de mal en peor”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega