Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

asleep at the switch

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.16 in modern English

Syllables: asleep- at the switch
IPA

30

Scrabble Score

17

Letters

2

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Neglectful of an important task, responsibility, or opportunity.

Example Sentences

"His vote demonstrates that the people of Philadelphia are not asleep at the switch, are not indifferent to their political duties."
"My guardian angel had not been asleep at the switch."
"It is sometimes difficult to guess whether a sentence has been garbled by the author or the typesetter […] . In either case, the editors were asleep at the switch."
"Why America (but not Canada) failed to set up a needed synfuels industry."
"“We all were asleep at the switch as the Chinese government decided to prioritise these clean energy technologies as a matter of national industrial strategy,” says Geoffrey Pyatt, a former US assistant secretary of energy and diplomat now at the advisory firm McLarty Associates."

Etymology

Probably an allusion to the important responsibilities of a railway switchman.

Synonyms

asleep at the wheel

Questions

What does asleep at the switch mean?: Neglectful of an important task, responsibility, or opportunity.
Where does asleep at the switch come from?: Probably an allusion to the important responsibilities of a railway switchman.

How to pronounce asleep at the switch

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