asleep at the switch

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Also, asleep at the wheel. Inattentive, not doing one's job, as in At the critical moment the watchman was asleep at the switch and only called the fire department when it was too late. This term came from 19th-century American railroading, when it was the trainman's duty to switch cars from one track to another by means of manually operated levers. Should he fail to do so, trains could collide. It was later transferred to any lack of alertness. The wheel in the variant is a steering wheel; similarly disastrous results are implied.

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Words nearby asleep at the switch

ASL, ASLA, aslant, Aslaug, asleep, asleep at the switch, ASLEF, AS level, ASLIB, as likely as not, as-live

How to use asleep at the switch in a sentence

France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sands was involved in a scandalous-for-the-time romance with the carpenter and there were rumors she was pregnant with his child.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The Dallas Cowboys sell out their state-of-the art football stadium.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The Daily Beast spoke to a jubilant League on Tuesday about the behind-the-scenes battle to get The Interview to movie theaters.
The Inside Story of How Sony’s ‘The Interview’ Finally Made It to Theaters|Marlow Stern|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sleek finds it far harder work than fortune-making; but he pursues his Will-o'-the-Wisp with untiring energy.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The Café tender was asleep in his chair; the porter had gone off; the sentinel alone kept awake on his post.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
The sun shone and the birds sang, and the day was beautiful without when she at last fell asleep again.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
He lifted his head, looked around him, and was just going to switch off the light, when he noticed the open book on his table.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
Tressan was monstrous ill-at-ease, and his face lost a good deal of its habitual plethora of colour.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini

asleep at the switch

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