miss the boat
Lose your chance
To miss the boat is to fail to take advantage of an opportunity, usually by acting too late.
The image is of arriving at the dock after the ship has sailed—you can see what you missed but can't catch up to it.
I meant to apply for that job but missed the boat.
The phrase often carries a note of regret rather than mere failure.
Likelihood of occurrence
- opportunityFavorable circumstance for advancement
- windowGlass-fitted wall opening
- momentBrief period of time
- openingGap or start
prospect · shot · break · golden · squandered · wasted · blown · forfeit
chance
Likelihood of occurrence
- opportunityFavorable circumstance for advancement
- windowGlass-fitted wall opening
- momentBrief period of time
opening · prospect · shot · break · golden · squandered · wasted · blown · forfeit · bypassed
tardy
Arriving past due
belated · late · procrastinated · dawdled · lagged · slow · overslept · straggled · dragged · hesitated
hindsight
Recognition after the fact
- shouldaOught to have, casually
- wistfulSadly longing for something
- ruefulExpressing sorrowful repentance
lament · sorrow · disappointment · chagrin · remorse · yearning · nostalgia · second-guessing · dwelling · what-if
- sea idiomsall at sea, dead in the water, smooth sailing, sink or swim, make waves
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, break a leg
- opportunitygolden opportunity, window of opportunity, opportunity knocks, once in a lifetime, golden chance
- travel idiomshit the road, end of the road, crossroads, smooth sailing, take the wheel
- nautical phrasesahoy, aye aye, smooth sailing, yo ho ho, all hands
- negligence expressionsdrop the ball, asleep at the wheel, let slide, slack off, caught napping
miss the boatseize the moment
Act on present opportunity
strike while the iron is hot · carpe diem · jump at the chance · make hay while the sun shines · seize the day
miss the boatcash in
Convert assets to money
make the most of · take advantage of · nail it · hit the jackpot · strike gold
miss, boat, missing, missed, boating, boats, misses, boatman, boatload