drop the ball
verbEtymology An allusion to the rules of such games as baseball, American football or cricket wherein literally dropping the ball would be a mistake.
1
Idiomatic To fail in one's responsibilities or duties, or to make a mistake, especially at a critical point or when the result is very negative.
- The movie ought to sputter out here, but Crowe and Cruise don't drop the ball.1996 Dec. 13, Peter Stack, "Tom and ‘Jerry’ Make a Great Team" (film review of Jerry Maguire), San Francisco Chronicle (retrieved 21 Sept 2013)
2
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see drop, ball.
- Synonyms
- fall on one's face, fuck up, screw the pooch
- Related terms
- fumble, take one's eye off the ball