单词 | to miss a trick |
释义 | > as lemmasto miss a trick d. transitive. colloquial (originally U.S.). to miss a trick: to fail to take advantage of an opportunity or to notice something important. Usually in negative contexts. Cf. trick n. Phrases 3.In quot. 1868 perhaps a literal use. ΚΠ 1868 N.Y. Times 12 Apr. 11/4 Flogged during two sad hours of daily rehearsal, to compel him to have confidence on the horse's back, flogged at night after any performance in which he may have slipped or missed a trick, his little life is a series of beatings till his fifteenth year. 1873 ‘M. Twain’ & C. D. Warner Gilded Age xxxii. 294 He feared he had ‘missed a trick’, as he expressed it. a1916 H. James Sense of Past (1917) iv. iii. 266 It was..for him to have kept it as..she preferred it. He had begun so..and how..came it therefore that he now repeatedly missed that trick? 1943 N. Coward Middle East Diary (1944) 11 He is a highly intelligent man and doesn't miss a trick... He had clear, alert views on the most diverse subjects. 1962 Oxf. Times 28 Dec. 15/2 Peter Butterworth and Joe Black are pantomime professionals who never miss a trick. 1988 Touchdown Nov. 9/1 There were glimpses of greatness from quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who hardly missed a trick. to miss a trick P3. to miss a trick, to fail to take advantage of an opportunity or notice something important; esp. he (or she) never misses (does not miss, etc.) a trick (see miss v.1 13d). colloquial (originally U.S.). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > an opportunity > while opportunity exists [phrase] > take advantage of every available opportunity he (or she) never misses (does not miss, etc.) a trick1922 the mind > attention and judgement > attention > notice, observation > listen attentively [phrase] > be alert to have one's wits about one1622 to be all there1864 he (or she) never misses (does not miss, etc.) a trick1922 to have (also keep) one's eye on the ball1937 to be on the ball1939 the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > do nothing [verb (intransitive)] > fail to do something > fail to take advantage of an opportunity to let pass1530 to miss a trick1957 a1916 H. James Sense of Past (1917) iv. iii. 266 It was..for him to have kept it as..she preferred it. He had begun so..and how..came it therefore that he now repeatedly missed that trick?] 1922 S. Lewis Babbitt xix. 241 ‘I'll bet..you were a bad old egg when you were a kid!’ ‘Well, I wasn't so slow!’ ‘I bet you weren't! I'll bet you didn't miss many tricks!’ 1943 N. Coward Middle East Diary (1944) 11 He is a highly intelligent man and doesn't miss a trick... He had clear, alert views on the most diverse subjects. 1957 ‘J. Wyndham’ Midwich Cuckoos xii. 99 He went on, with a puzzled frown on his brow as he realised that somewhere he had missed a trick; something had been kept from him. 1962 Oxf. Times 28 Dec. 15/2 Peter Butterworth and Joe Black are pantomime professionals who never miss a trick. 1965 Harper's Bazaar Feb. 66/1 Fenwicks..never misses a trick when it comes to picking up a new accessory idea. 1965 Weekly News (Auckland) 10 Mar. 49/1 The fact that the Wellington [boxing] association could match three Auckland fledgling professionals with three unknown Australians and make a profit points to someone else missing a trick. 1967 ‘E. Lathen’ Murder against Grain iv. 32 You have to hand it to them. Those boys haven't missed a trick. 1967 O. Norton Now lying Dead vi. 109 He never missed a trick. 1973 S. B. Jackman Guns covered with Flowers viii. 131 Clever chap... Doesn't miss a trick. < as lemmas |
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