poor timing
Worst possible instant
Poor timing is acting at a moment that undermines the desired effect—arriving too late, speaking too soon, or making a move when circumstances work against you.
The phrase often assigns blame for failure to when something happened rather than what happened: The product was good, but poor timing killed it.
Bad luck and bad judgment both qualify: Poor timing on my part—I asked for a raise the day they announced layoffs.
- lateNot on time
- missedFailed to reach
- missed opportunityChance not taken
- awkwardLacking grace or ease
- unfortunateDeserving of pity
premature · jumped the gun · delayed · rushed · hesitation · blunder · fumble · stumble · misstep · clumsy · off-beat · split second · rhythm · pause · awkward silence · interruption · hasty · botched
- swimming mistakessplashing
- Common Mistakesprocrastination, forgetting, oversight, miscalculation, rushing
- Strategic Mistakesmiscalculation, overconfidence, underestimation, overextension, overcommitment
- investment pitfallsovertrading, panic selling, overleveraging, overconfidence, herd mentality
- Shot Errorsblur, overexposure, underexposure, out of focus, camera shake
- timing problemsdelay, lag, timeout, late arrival, late start
poor timingperfect timing
Optimal moment selection
good timing · well-timed · clockwork precision · right moment · synchronization
poor, timing, poorly, poorer, poorest, poorness, time, timed, timer