miss the boat
Formsmisses the boat, missing the boat, missed the boat
- 1To fail to take advantage of an opportunity, especially by acting too late or overlooking it entirely.
Investors who hesitate during a downturn often miss the boat on the eventual recovery.
By the time the company entered the smartphone market, it had already missed the boat.
Note
A travel image turned into a verdict on timing: the phrase pictures reaching the dock after the boat has gone, and it caught on in the 1920s. The chance let slip usually follows with on, as in missed the boat on a great deal. Only miss changes form (missed, missing); the boat stays fixed, though speakers stretch the picture for comic effect: missed the boat, the harbor, and the ocean.
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Origin
The phrase alludes to failing to catch a boat in time, effectively "missing" the boat. It has been popular since the 1920s.