I wish I had missed the boat ... "
Benjamin Guggenheim
Liliputins. What the hell is it ?
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miss the boat
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Related to miss the boat: in the same boat, worse for wear
miss the boat
1. Lit. to miss out (on something); to be ignorant (of something). Pay attention, John, or you'll miss the boat and not learn algebra. Tom really missed the boat when it came to making friends.
2. Fig. to have made an error; to be wrong. If you think you can do that, you have just missed the boat. The guy's missed the boat. He's a lunkhead.
See also: boat, miss
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
miss the boat
1. Fail to take advantage of an opportunity, as in Jean missed the boat on that club membership. This expression, which alludes to not being in time to catch a boat, has been applied more widely since the 1920s.
2. Fail to understand something, as in I'm afraid our legislator missed the boat on that amendment to the bill. [Mid-1900s] Also see miss the point.
See also: boat, miss
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
miss the boat
COMMON If you miss the boat, you fail to act in time to take advantage of an opportunity. The price of gold rose so quickly that many investors simply missed the boat. When I was still unmarried at 30, my mother and grandmother both worried that I'd missed the boat. Note: You can put an adjective before boat to say what kind of opportunity is being missed. Those who bought in May missed the investment boat. Note: People sometimes say miss the bus with the same meaning. Orders received by December 10 will be sent in time for Christmas. Too bad if you missed the bus.
See also: boat, miss
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
miss the boat (or bus)
be too slow to take advantage of an opportunity. informal
1987 Kathy Lette Girls' Night Out He'll never get divorced and marry her. She'll miss the boat.
See also: boat, miss
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
;miss the ;boat
(informal) lose the opportunity to do or get something because you do not act quickly enough: I’m afraid we’ve missed the boat — all the tickets for Saturday’s performance have been sold.
See also: boat, miss
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
miss the boat
tv. to have made an error; to be wrong. If you think you can do that, you have just missed the boat.
See also: boat, miss
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
miss the boat
Informal
1. To fail to avail oneself of an opportunity.
2. To fail to understand.
See also: boat, miss
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Benjamin Guggenheim
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born
October 26, 1865
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Died
April 15, 1912 (aged 46)
Atlantic Ocean, aboard the RMS Titanic
Cause of death
Sinking of the RMS Titanic
Nationality
American
Citizenship
American and German
Alma mater
Peirce School of Business
Occupation
Businessman
Spouse(s)
Florette Seligman (m. 1894–1912)
Children
Benita Rosalind Guggenheim
Peggy Guggenheim
Barbara Hazel Guggenheim
Parent(s)
Meyer Guggenheim
Barbara Myers
Benjamin "Ben" Guggenheim (October 26, 1865 – April 15, 1912)[1] was an American businessman. He died aboard RMS Titanic when the ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. His body was never recovered.[2]
Early life
Benjamin Guggenheim was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, the fifth of seven sons of the wealthy mining magnate Meyer Guggenheim (1828–1905) and Barbara Myers (1834–1900). Guggenheim was Jewish.[3] In 1894, he married Florette Seligman (1870–1937),[4] daughter of James Seligman, a senior partner in the firm J. & W. Seligman & Co. and Rosa Seligman née Content. Together, they had three daughters: Benita Rosalind Guggenheim (1895–1927), Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim (1898–1979) and Barbara Hazel Guggenheim (1903–1995).
Guggenheim inherited a great deal of money from his father. Due to business concerns, he grew distant from his wife and was frequently away from their New York City home. He maintained an apartment in Paris, France.[5]
Aboard the Titanic
Guggenheim boarded the RMS Titanic and was accompanied by his mistress, a French singer named Léontine Aubart (1887–1964); his valet, Victor Giglio (1888–1912); his chauffeur, René Pernot (1872–1912); and Madame Aubart's maid, Emma Sägesser (1887–1964). His ticket was number 17593 and cost £79 4s (other sources give the price as £56 18s 7d). He and Giglio occupied stateroom cabin B82 while Aubart and Sägesser occupied cabin B35. Pernot occupied an unknown cabin in second class.[2]
Guggenheim and Giglio slept through the Titanic's encounter with the iceberg only to be awakened just after midnight ship's time by Aubart and Sägesser, who had felt the collision. Sägesser later quoted Giglio as saying, "Never mind, icebergs! What is an iceberg?"[citation needed] Guggenheim was persuaded to awaken and dress; Bedroom Steward Henry Samuel Etches helped him on with a lifebelt and a heavy sweater before sending him, Giglio, and the two ladies up to the Boat Deck.[2]
As Aubart and Sägesser reluctantly entered Lifeboat No. 9, Guggenheim spoke to the maid in German, saying, "We will soon see each other again! It's just a repair. Tomorrow the Titanic will go on again." Realizing that the situation was much more serious than he had implied, as well as realizing he was not going to be rescued, he then returned to his cabin with Giglio and the two men changed into evening wear.[2] Titanic survivor Rose Amelie Icard wrote in a letter, "The billionaire Benjamin Guggenheim after having helped the rescue of women and children got dressed, a rose at his buttonhole, to die."[6][7][8] The two were seen heading into the Grand Staircase, closing the door behind them. He was heard to remark, "We've dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen."[2] He also gave Etches, who survived the sinking, a message, which Etches wrote down: "If anything should happen to me, tell my wife in New York that I've done my best in doing my duty."[2] Etches reported that "shortly after the last few boats were lowered and I was ordered by the deck officer to man an oar, I waved good-bye to Mr. Guggenheim, and that was the last I saw of him and [Giglio]."[2] Guggenheim and Giglio were last seen seated in deck chairs in the foyer of the Grand Staircase sipping brandy and smoking cigars, ready to accept their fate without fear or hesitation. Both men went down with the ship. Their bodies, if recovered, were never identified. Guggenheim's chauffeur, Pernot, was also lost in the disaster.