I was drawn to the phrase, “Too much toothpaste has left the tube” appearing in Washington Post’s (January 13) article under the title, “Comey should resign.”

> “(FBI Director James B.) Comey was in a difficult situation, boxed in
> by Clinton partisans and heading an agency that allegedly was
> expressing distrust of the Obama Justice Department. By all accounts,
> Comey is a decent man and a straight shooter, and it’s unfortunate
> that the Clinton scandals landed him in such an untenable position.
> But **too much toothpaste has left the tube**. The FBI won’t be thought of
> as being at its best, and the agency’s investigations and actions
> won’t be met with complete trust, unless there is a change at the very
> top.”

Does “toothpaste” represent unsettled problems or suspicions on the stage? Is “too much toothpaste has left the tube” a popular turn of phrase, or simply a writer’s coinage? If it is a well-received expression, how can it be used in other contexts?