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asleep at the switch

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical 0.06 sec.
asleep at the switch
not paying attention. Health experts were asleep at the switch when the disease began to spread rapidly again.
Etymology: based on the idea of someone going to sleep while they are responsible for operating the switch (= device) that allows a train to move from one track to another
See also: asleep, switch

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Nahai charged DWP with being asleep at the switch and said that even with the unprecedented high temperatures, DWP was caught off guard and failed to adequately communicate the situation to customers.
You have to be sort of asleep at the switch not to be critical of it.
I have fallen asleep at the switch and the train carrying a "Top Secret" cargo is off the tracks in unsecured territory and he is alerting me to stop transmission.
 
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