come apart at the seams

So far, Vladimir Putin has played a clever hand, sitting back and doubtless enjoying watching the transatlantic alliance come apart at the seams.

The same team leaders driving stressed employees onward—perhaps promising a light at the end of the tunnel or, more likely, setting wildly high metrics to meet—are themselves starting to come apart at the seams.

If you needed a long-term formula for disaster in a country threatening to come apart at the seams, it would be hard to imagine a more striking one.

The defense had come apart at the seams, losing its way over the final weeks of last season.

From Day 1, teammates say, the transfer quarterback stepped in with a swagger that lifted the locker room, changing a culture that had previously come apart at the seams.