ship has sailed
Opportunity has passed
The ship has sailed means an opportunity has passed and cannot be recovered.
The image is of standing on a dock watching your vessel depart without you—too late to board now.
Usually appears with a possessive: That ship has sailed, I wanted to apologize but the ship had sailed.
Sometimes used to note that a decision is final or a moment has passed: We could have bought Bitcoin in 2010, but that ship has sailed.
- missedFailed to reach
- opportunityFavorable circumstance for advancement
- goneNo longer present
- too latePast the cutoff
- passedWent beyond or succeeded
point of no return · no turning back · departed · regret · spilled milk · moved on · door closed · over · done · bygone · old news · farewell · harbor · dock · anchor · voyage · timing · hindsight
- opportunitygolden opportunity, window of opportunity, opportunity knocks, once in a lifetime, golden chance
- sea idiomsall at sea, dead in the water, sink or swim, miss the boat, rock the boat
- travel idiomshit the road, in the same boat, miss the boat, end of the road, crossroads
- consequencesconsequence, consequences, result, results, effect
- endingsending, the end, finish, close, final
- giving upgive up, giving up, quit, quitting, surrender
ship has sailedwindow of opportunity
Temporary favorable period
opportunity knocks · fresh start · blank slate · strike while the iron is hot · carpe diem
ship has sailedsecond chance
Renewed opportunity after failure
do-over · mulligan · reset button · back to square one · clean slate
ship has sailedwide open
Fully accessible, unrestricted
all bets are off · up for grabs · remains to be seen · hope springs eternal · never say never
ship, ships, shipped, shipping, shipment, shipments, shipper, shippers, shipyard