I’m sure it’s no surprise to hear I’m telling you this is yet another awesome phrase to know in spoken English. If you “drop the ball” on something, it means that you made a mistake or you really “screwed up”. It usually refers to the kind of mistake that you wouldn’t normally make. It could also be a mistake on an important thing. Some examples will really help you to get the meaning.

“I can’t believe I couldn’t get the company to sing the deal with us. I could see in their eyes they really wanted to sign, but I was really nervous when I was speaking with them and I somehow just totally dropped the ball with the whole thing. Now they won’t even answer our emails.”

“My friend had a really beautiful and friendly girlfriend. They were dating for 3 years and thinking of getting married. They had a great time together and rarely fought. Last Friday night he got super drunk and slept with another girl. His girlfriend found out and she left him. He’s really kicking himself for dropping the ball on that one.

“He slept through (didn’t wake up) his alarm clock and missed a huge job interview. Now he has no chance to get the job he really wanted. He was so excited about it beforehand. I can’t believe he dropped the ball on that one. I really feel sorry for him.”

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