slip a cog

Idioms  

1. Also,. Lose one's ability to reason soundly or make correct judgments, as in She must have slipped a cog or she would never have gone out barefoot in December, or What's the matter with him? Has he slipped his gears? These slangy usages allude to a mechanical failure owing to the cog of a gear or a gear failing to mesh. The first dates from about 1930, the variant from the 1960s.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

slip a cog

On the second round, he seemed to slip a cog on the par-three fifth hole.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Yes, if they have had any warning or if our plans slip a cog anywhere we shall be repulsed to a certainty."

From Bucky O'Connor by William MacLeod Raine

"Well, now, the question I want your opinion on is this: Wouldn't it be perfectly fair for A to--well, slip a cog or two, you know--" "Slip a cog?" queried Sydney, puzzled.

From Behind the line A story of college life and football by Ralph Henry Barbour

And would nature allow it to choke up or slip a cog just because a little thing like a worm got tangled in its gearing?

From Quacks and Grafters by Unknown

I guess we all slip a cog now and then.

From The Haunted Pajamas by Francis Perry Elliott

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---