Sink, or attempt to sink? (2,2,3)
I believe the answer is:
go to pot
'sink' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'attempt to sink?' is the wordplay.
'attempt' becomes 'go' (go is a kind of attempt).
'sink?' becomes 'pot' (I've seen this before).
'go'+'to'+'pot'='GO TO POT'
'or' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for go to pot that I've seen before include "Deteriorate in cooking utensil?" , "Deteriorate through neglect" , "run down" , "Approach snooker table" , "Reveal signs of neglect" .)