asleep at the switch

Idioms  

1. 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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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

asleep at the switch

Another administration official insisted that just because they had not announced any public actions, it doesn’t mean they were asleep at the switch.

From Washington Times ● May 12, 2022

For eight years, Ike had been asleep at the switch.

From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2022

The board members were asleep at the switch — in some cases, they were literally asleep.

From The Verge ● Sep. 28, 2021

Until recently, government auditors could be relied on to be asleep at the switch, in part because they were outgunned by healthcare providers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2021

And there stood Maggie, my wife, with never a scar from the ditch, I'd been taking a nap in my bed, and had not been "asleep at the switch."

From Poems Teachers Ask For Selected by readers of "Normal Instructor-Primary Plans" by Various

Related Words

• inattentive
• reckless