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English Idioms

“Miss the Boat”

Miss the Boat

Meaning:

  • miss a chance
  • lose an opportunity

Frequency of Use: Medium

Sample Sentences

  1. Jacob missed the boat when he didn’t accept that job offer. Now, he regrets his decision.
  2. You’ll miss the boat if you don’t ask Maria out on a date. 
  3. You need to move fast on this house. It’s a great price, and if you don’t act so, you’re going to miss the boat for sure.

Conversation Questions

  1. Describe a time when you failed to act on an important decision, and you missed the boat. How did things turn out?

Speaking Situation

Last month, your best friend was offered an unbelievable job (great pay, outstanding benefits, and a new car) in Australia, but he turned down the offer because he wanted to stay in your city with his girlfriend. However, when he came home last night, he was a complete mess in tears and said that his girlfriend broke up with him to date a drummer in a rock band. Now, your friend is completely depressed, and he realizes that he missed the boat on a job of a lifetime. What advice can you give him to remain hopeful about his future? 

Possible Answer

“Hey. There are more fish in the sea. Don’t lose hope in love or work. Let’s go hiking this weekend. The fresh air will help you clear your mind. If you miss the boat on one opportunity, there will be more.”

Language Activity

Sometimes, learners know the meaning of an idiom, but they don’t know how to use it correctly in conversation or writing. Thus, this activity checks your grammatical accuracy with the idiom so you become more confident in using it. 

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