like a top winding down?

This is a spinning top:



I'm sure you've seen such a toy before. As it's inertia depletes, it "winds down," it looses momentum, and eventually stops spinning.

as it winds down, rather than spinning upright it starts wobbling, that is rather than spinning mostly upright its top starts describing larger and larger circles off-axis, and eventually falls over. The person was wobbling out the door.