チャンスを逃す

miss the boat

チャンスを逃す、好機を逃す

このダイアログはBBC learning Englishより抜粋しています

音声・スクリプト付です→こちら

Finn:
Come on, Feifei! We are going to be late - this party is my big chance!

Feifei:
I'm almost ready, Finn! Hi, I'm Feifei. Finn has invited me to his posh uncle's party. He knows lots of celebrities!

Finn:
Come on! And lots of musicians... I'm a bit of a rocker myself, and this might just be my chance to meet someone famous... Come on!

Feifei: Coming!

Finn:
Maybe join the band... live the rock star life... oh, this is my one big chance! Come on or I'll miss the boat!

Feifei:
Boat?! Why didn't you say it before?

Feifei: Here I am.

Finn: A lifejacket!?

Feifei:
Of course! We are going on a boat! I am afraid of water - I can't swim!

Finn:
Feifei, there's no real boat! In English, when we use the expression 'to miss the boat' we mean that we are too late to take advantage of a good opportunity.

Feifei: No boat at all?

Finn:
Not even a canoe. Listen to these examples.

EX)
If I hadn't bought a new flat last year I would have missed the boat. Properties are more expensive now.

I should have travelled the world when I was young. Now I have a family to take care of. I might have missed the boat.

Feifei:
Oh, OK, so 'to miss the boat' is to miss an opportunity by being late. It makes sense.

Finn:
Yes, but we're not going to make it on time now, unless... we take my uncle's helicopter! It's parked in a field nearby. Come on!

Feifei: Helicopter! Wait a minute, Finn.

Feifei: Now I am really ready.

Finn: Feifei, is it what I think it is? A parachute?!

Feifei:
Well of course it is! I can't swim and I can't fly either. And I'm afraid of heights!

Finn:
OK, don't you worry. Let's just go to the party. We don't want to miss the boat, do we?

Feifei:
We don't want to miss the boat or the helicopter. Bye.

Finn: Bye.