fall between the cracks

Idioms and Phrases

Also, fall through the cracks or between two stools . Be neglected or overlooked; also, not fit either of two alternatives. For example, Please make sure that either our department or yours deals with this account, lest it fall between the cracks , or Trying to be both teacher and parent, she fell between two stools . The variant using stools , with its image of a person falling to the ground between two chairs instead of sitting down on one or the other, was already a proverb in ancient times; in English it was first recorded about 1390.