on someone's watch
4
4.7
- idiom
:
bajo la supervisión de alguien
- I guess you probably let a lot of things slide on your watch.
- happen on someone's watch
- on President Clinton's watch
- on George Bush's watch
Examples
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The problem will arrive on somebody else's watch.
Blog text (23) -
It is important to ensure safety on your watch to avoid any accidents.
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All happened on your watch.
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So that's your problem, your responsibility, and it's on your watch.
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It could've happened on your watch, too.
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It is safe to say that 911 would not have happened on Clinton's watch.
Blog text (16) -
That's what the whole union uproar is about: making financial promises that mature on someone else's watch.
Blog text (26) -
More than 2,000 dead, most on Obama's watch, as his policies have emboldened the Taliban and saddened former allies who now know Americans are going home the day after tomorrow.
Blog text (18) -
The company made several mistakes on your watch, which is unacceptable.
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Many changes in policy occurred on the manager's watch, affecting all employees.
Synonyms
25
6.1
The time when I am in charge of something
How Accountable
251
4.6
4
4.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'during the time someone is responsible' is directly compositional from 'on' (during) + 'someone's' (possessive) + 'watch' (a period of duty or supervision). This follows a common English prepositional + possessive + noun pattern and has close equivalents in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the duty-sense of 'watch' should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
On someone's watch comes from the image of a guard who stands watch and looks after a place for a set time. That's why if something goes wrong 'on their watch' it means it happened while they were 'responsible'.