drop the ball
English
editEtymology
editAn allusion to the rules of such games as baseball, American football or cricket wherein literally dropping the ball would be a mistake.
Pronunciation
editAudio (General Australian): (file)
Verb
editdrop the ball (third-person singular simple present drops the ball, present participle dropping the ball, simple past and past participle dropped the ball)
- (idiomatic) To fail in one's responsibilities or duties, or to make a mistake, especially at a critical point or when the result is very negative.
- 1996 Dec. 13, Peter Stack, "Tom and ‘Jerry’ Make a Great Team" (film review of Jerry Maguire), San Francisco Chronicle (retrieved 21 Sept 2013):
- The movie ought to sputter out here, but Crowe and Cruise don't drop the ball.
- 1996 Dec. 13, Peter Stack, "Tom and ‘Jerry’ Make a Great Team" (film review of Jerry Maguire), San Francisco Chronicle (retrieved 21 Sept 2013):
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see drop, ball.
Synonyms
edit- fall on one's face, fuck up (vulgar), screw the pooch
Translations
editfail in one’s responsibilities
See also
editReferences
edit- “drop the ball” in the Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.