drop the ball
Fail to follow-through
To drop the ball is to fail to follow through on a responsibility or make a careless mistake at a crucial moment.
The metaphor comes from sports—a player who literally drops the ball costs the team.
Someone dropped the ball on the catering and now we have no food for the reception.
The phrase implies the failure was avoidable.
- mess upDo badly, err
- botchSpoil through incompetence
- blow itFail at crucial moment
- blunderFoolish, costly mistake
- fumbleHandle with clumsy fingers
miss · miss the mark · fall short · slip · screw up · stumble · bungle · accountability · letdown · asleep at the wheel · slip through the cracks · oversight · negligence · misreckon · lapse · turnover · muff · err
- sports idiomsthrow in the towel, slam dunk, out of left field, level playing field, hit it out of the park
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, break a leg
- Incompetencebungle, failure, botch, inability, blunder
- negligence expressionsasleep at the wheel, let slide, slack off, caught napping, neglect
- office jargonsynergy, circle back, touch base, deep dive, action item
- clumsinessclumsiness, clumsy, awkwardness, fumble, stumble
drop the ballcome through
Fulfill when needed
deliver · follow through · nail it · step up · rise to the occasion
drop the ballkeep one's eye on the ball
Remain attentive to priorities
stay focused · see it through · stay the course · keep track · pay attention