ships that pass in the night
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.40 in modern English
40
Scrabble Score
23
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Two or more people who encounter one another in a transitory, incidental manner and whose relationship is without lasting significance; two or more people who almost encounter one another, but do not do so.
noun
Things which have no significant connection or commonality.
Example Sentences
- "[H]e sat down and we got into conversation. There wasn't time to talk much. . . . We got along famously. But—oh, well, it was just another case of ships that pass in the night."
- "We very seldom work together on The Archers, we're rarely in the same episodes, so often we're ships that pass in the night."
- "They may have passed each other in the lobby or on the elevator of the building they worked in, but as far as I know, they never had the opportunity to even say hello. They were like two ships that passed in the night."
- "At one point, Gerry McIlroy had two jobs, putting in a 100-hour week as a cleaner and barman, while his mother Rosie worked a night shift in a factory. . . . Rosie and Gerry were like ships that passed in the night."
- "[T]he central figures in the action seem vaguely unrelated to one another, like ships passing in the night."
- ""Education and business used to be like two ships that passed in the night," said Delaware Gov. Pierre duPont."