miss the boat

Allusion to failing to catch a boat in time, effectively “missing” the boat. Popular since the 1920s.

miss the boat (third-person singular simple present misses the boat, present participle missing the boat, simple past and past participle missed the boat)

1. (intransitive) To fail to take advantage of an opportunity; to overlook or be too late to pursue an option or course of action.

   The price discount ended yesterday and I just missed the boat on a great deal.

   As for food delivery technology, our company missed the boat, the harbor, and the ocean.

• that ship has sailed
• miss out