drop the ball

drop the ball
verb
commit a faux pas or a fault or make a serious mistake
-

I blundered during the job interview

• Syn: ↑sin, ↑blunder, ↑boob, ↑goof
• Derivationally related forms: ↑goof (for: ↑goof), ↑boob (for: ↑boob), ↑blunderer (for: ↑blunder), ↑blunder (for: ↑blunder)
• Hypernyms:
↑transgress, ↑offend, ↑infract, ↑violate, ↑go against, ↑breach, ↑break
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s

-

Somebody ——s PP

-

Somebody ——s something

 (for: ↑blunder)

* * *

phrasal
: to make a mistake especially by failing to take timely, effective, or proper action

* * *

drop the ball mainly american mainly journalism phrase
to fail to do something that you are responsible for doing

I admit it, I dropped the ball.

Thesaurus: to make a mistake, or to do something badlysynonym
Main entry: drop

* * *

informal make a mistake; mishandle things

I really dropped the ball on this one

Origin:
with allusion to mishandling in baseball

* * *

drop the ball
US informal : to make a mistake especially by not doing something important

I think the mayor dropped the ball by not hiring more police officers.

• • •
Main Entry: ↑ball
————————
drop the ball — see ↑ball, 1
• • •
Main Entry: ↑drop

* * *

drop the ˈball idiom
(NAmE, informal) to make a mistake and spoil sth that you are responsible for

•

Let's not drop the ball on this.

Main entry: ↑dropidiom

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • drop the ball — INFORMAL ► to make a mistake, especially by doing something in a careless or stupid way: »The staffer responsible for finding the right location had dropped the ball. Main Entry: ↑drop …   Financial and business terms

  • drop the ball — If someone drops the ball, they are not doing their job or taking their responsibilities seriously enough and let something go wrong …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • drop the ball — verb To fail in ones responsibilities or duties, or to make a mistake, especially at a critical point or when the result is very negative. The movie ought to sputter out here, but Crowe and Cruise dont drop the ball. Syn: fall on ones face, fuck… …   Wiktionary

  • drop the ball — American, informal to make a mistake, especially by doing something in a stupid or careless way. For god s sake don t drop the ball we re relying on you …   New idioms dictionary

  • drop the ball N. Amer. — drop the ball N. Amer. informal make a mistake. → drop …   English new terms dictionary

  • drop the ball — tv. to fail at something; to allow something to fail. □ I didn’t want to be the one who dropped the ball, but I knew that someone would flub up. □ Sam dropped the ball, and we lost the contract …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • drop the ball — fail to do or complete a task, not follow through    Who dropped the ball? I ll tell you who! We dropped the ball you and I. We need to take responsibility for our lives and our world! …   English idioms

  • Drop\ The\ Ball — To let somebody down or to fail in an assignment, project, etc. Simon really dropped the ball for that customer …   Dictionary of american slang

  • Drop\ The\ Ball — To let somebody down or to fail in an assignment, project, etc. Simon really dropped the ball for that customer …   Dictionary of american slang

  • drop the ball —    If someone drops the ball, they are not doing their job or taking their responsibilities seriously enough and let something go wrong.   (Dorking School Dictionary) …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

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