let slip
Idioms-
Also, ; let slide . Miss an opportunity; waste time. For example, We forgot to buy a ticket and let our big chance slip by , or He let the whole day slide by . The first term dates from the mid-1500s, the variant from the late 1500s.
-
Also, let slip out . Reveal something, usually inadvertently, as in He let it slip out that he had applied for the vacant position . [Mid-1800s]
-
let slip through one's fingers . Fail to seize an opportunity, as in We could have won the trophy but we let it slip through our fingers . [First half of 1600s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Not realising they were audible even leaning out of windows or in the garden, the prisoners let slip secrets, including details of the development of the first ballistic missiles, V-2s.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
In an interview with biographer Michael D’Antonio, Trump let slip that one of his favorite songs of all time was a schmaltzy piano ballad recorded by the late, great Peggy Lee.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Knowing that handing off the mantle to any of these soft-bellied siblings meant dooming his life’s work, Roy let slip one of the most devastating parental assessments ever captured on television.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2025
Some let slip their secrets during the actual cook-off, when host Sarah Rankin interviews them as they stir away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2025
“Oh, yeah, yeah. Totally,” I rushed to say, before Bobby Gene could let slip the terrible truth: We weren’t allowed to go to the museum.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
