Missing the Boat

Abstract

There is nothing worse than standing on the quay and seeing the boat leave without you – knowing that that was your one opportunity to make the cruise. Using public transport one often gets into the situation where you miss the bus, but here you always know that another will come along at a predetermined time. ‘Missing the boat’ is for me however something totally different from ‘Missing the Bus’, it is more permanent and the opportunity will probably never come around again. In the English language both these terms are used to indicate failure to take advantage of an opportunity or to overlook or be too late to pursue or take action to use an opportunity to your advantage.