Idiom
slow off the mark
Meaning
slow to act or react
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He was slow off the mark and missed the bus.”
“The team was slow off the mark, allowing their opponents to score two quick goals.”
“Because the government was slow off the mark to address the crisis, the public lost faith in their ability to manage the situation effectively.”
Examples
simple
“He was slow off the mark and missed the bus.”
contextual
“The team was slow off the mark, allowing their opponents to score two quick goals.”
complex
“Because the government was slow off the mark to address the crisis, the public lost faith in their ability to manage the situation effectively.”
Origin
Derived from the terminology of competitive racing, where the mark denotes the specific point from which a runner or horse begins. The idiom refers to a lack of alacrity in departing that starting position.
Key words
Related idioms
- Updated