enter through the pipe is a popular expression in the Portuguese language, used in the sense of "get bad" in any situation or get in trouble, in trouble or with complications.
The phrase "entering through the pipe" is considered an idiomatic expression, as it needs a global interpretation of the sentence, and not of each word, in order to understand its figurative meaning.
If the expression is analyzed from a literal point of view, "entering the pipe" would mean someone entering a pipe. However, this phrase is used with the figurative meaning of "being in difficulties" or "in an unpleasant situation".
Example: "The scammer went through the pipe this time" or "My friend went down the drain because he didn't do his homework".
There is no literal translation for "entering the pipe" in English. The natives of the English language, when they want to express the same meaning that "entering through the pipe" has for the fluent in Portuguese, they use the expression I'm eating cropper or to fail.
Example: "Pedro was out all night before he took him final. He really came a cropper" ("Pedro was out all night on the eve of his final exam. He went in through the pipe").