slip through the net


slip through the net

To go unnoticed or undealt with; to be unintentionally neglected or ignored, especially in a corporate, political, or social system. With other issues like drug addiction and unemployment taking priority for the government, the welfare of children in the foster system very often slips through the net. We were all so busy drawing up the contracts for this new deal that the appreciation dinner we'd promised to our interns simply slipped through the net.See also: net, slip, through

slip through the net

BRITISHCOMMON1. If someone or something slips through the net, they are not helped or noticed by the people or system that should protect or deal with them. Somehow, these children have managed to slip through the net of health service providers. Faulty tests may mean infected animals are slipping through the net. Despite being the female lead in the most successful film of 1989, Kensit seemed to slip through the net of casting directors. Note: You can also say fall through the net with the same meaning. Doctors are concerned that patients will fall through the net under the new system.2. If someone who is behaving illegally slips through the net, they avoid being noticed and caught by the system that is meant to catch them. Police admit that under the new system, the killer would probably still have slipped through the net.3. If illegal goods slip through the net, they are not found by the system which is meant to discover them. A shipment of 44 kilos of cocaine slipped through the customs net at Gatwick. Note: The usual American expression is fall through the cracks. See also: net, slip, through

slip (or fall) through the net

escape from or be missed by something organized to catch or deal with you. 1977 Margaret Drabble The Ice Age Britain is, after all, a welfare state, and not many slip through its net. See also: net, slip, through

slip through the ˈnet

when somebody/something slips through the net, an organization or a system fails to find them/it and deal with them/it: We tried to contact all former students, but one or two slipped through the net.See also: net, slip, through