miss the boat

1. Fail to understand something, as in I'm afraid our legislator missed the boat on that amendment to the bill . [Mid-1900s] Also see miss the point .

2. Fail to take advantage of an opportunity, as in Jean missed the boat on that club membership . This expression, which alludes to not being in time to catch a boat, has been applied more widely since the 1920s.

Example Sentences

“I’m just concerned that our industry is going to miss the boat on the wind farm work,” he said.

From Seattle Times

Here’s a statement that you can quote: Waiting for ships that never come in A girl is likely to miss the boat.

From New York Times

“Sometimes you focus too much on the winning and you miss the boat.”

From Seattle Times

“People who try to define him by politics miss the boat completely,” Lowden said.

From Seattle Times

I don’t want to miss the boat any longer.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• confuse
• miscalculate
• misconstrue
• misinterpret
• misjudge
• misread
• overestimate
• overlook
• underestimate