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Glite Dictionary
to fall between the cracks

to fall between the cracks

2 7.4
Not get noticed or dealt with
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : quedar en el olvido
  • If you don't ask for help, your needs might fall between the cracks and go unnoticed.
  • people fall between the cracks
  • things fall between the cracks
  • often fall between the cracks

And it was, it was getting kids that fell between the cracks.

Examples

  • In busy times, important tasks can easily fall between the cracks and be forgotten.

  • Although the central goal of the transition process is to develop an effective life plan for the student, the often unstated purpose of transition planning is to avoid having the student "fall between the cracks" in the system and graduate (or leave) high school without a plan.

    Academic text (2006)

  • I like stories about people that have fallen between the cracks.

    Sweeney Killing Sweeney (2018)

  • Therefore, they are less able to facilitate a request for services and thus "fall between the cracks" of the system.

    Academic text (2005)

  • One also wonders if more of these students would have fallen "between the cracks" and not completed high school at all.

    Academic text (1995)

  • When companies experience a large influx in volume, things can fall between the cracks.

    Blog text (23)

  • In one program, staff became aware of the potential for duplication or for clients to "fall between the cracks" in their program.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Many children in foster care often fall between the cracks, receiving little attention from the system.

Synonyms

to slip by
vsto fall between the cracks
11 3.8

To go past quickly without anyone noticing, as with time or chances

is missed and then left unhandled rather than merely passing unnoticed
to drop off the radar
vsto fall between the cracks
  • Informal
1 7.5

To stop being seen or heard from by others

is overlooked or neglected rather than only becoming unseen
to slip under the radar
vsto fall between the cracks
  • Informal
1 6.3

To go unnoticed by people or officials

is unseen and also left unattended and not dealt with

Antonyms

to gain attention
11 3.0

To get noticed and make people interested

How Noticed

to fall between the cracks
  • Informal
2 7.4
to overlook
243 2.9
to miss
518 1.7

Surface Forms

fall between the cracks infinitive
falling between the cracks present participle
falls between the cracks third person singular
fell between the cracks past
fallen between the cracks past participle

Morphology

fall + between + the + crack

The phrase evokes a literal image of an item falling into a gap (between + crack) so a learner who knows the words can plausibly infer that something is missed or lost in a gap; however, mapping that spatial image to the abstract sense of being overlooked or neglected is metaphorical and not fully predictable without exposure. This construction is partially compositional and cross-linguistically attested, so it is understandable to some extent but requires familiarity for the exact pragmatic meaning.

Etymology

The idiom fall between the cracks comes from the image of small things dropping into the gaps between floorboards or tiles; when they fall into the cracks they are easily lost and not noticed. So the phrase means 'to be overlooked or neglected'.