miss the boat

English

Allusion to failing to catch a boat in time, effectively “missing” the boat. Popular since the 1920s.

miss the boat (third-person singular simple present misses the boat, present participle missing the boat, simple past and past participle missed the boat)

(intransitive) To fail to take advantage of an opportunity; to overlook or be too late to pursue an option or course of action.
The price discount ended yesterday and I just missed the boat on a great deal.

As for food delivery technology, our company missed the boat, the harbor, and the ocean.

fail to take advantage of an opportunity

American Sign Language: (TRAIN) 1@NearHand-FingerUp-1@InsideChesthigh-FingerUp 1@NearHand-FingerForward-1@DistalInsideChesthigh-FingerForward A@Chest-PalmBack CirclesVert (TRAIN GO SORRY)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 錯過機會／错过机会 (cuòguò jīhuì)
Dutch: de boot missen
Finnish: myöhästyä junasta (miss the train)
French: manquer le coche (fr), rater le coche (fr)
Icelandic: verða af tækifæri
Italian: perdere il treno
Russian: по́езд ушёл (pójezd ušól) (lit.: the train is gone), в пролёте (v proljóte) (colloquial)
Spanish: perder el tren

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