cog Idioma
slip a cog|cog|gear|slip|slip a gear
v. phr.,
slang To make a mistake.
I must have been slipping a cog when I said that I would run for mayor. Jim hates to sleep outdoors. He's slipping his gears if he's promised to take the boys camping. Compare: SLIP UP.
cog
cog In addition to the idiom beginning with
cog, also see
slip a cog.
cog in the wheel
cog in the wheel Also,
cog in the machine. One who holds a minor but necessary post in a large organization, as in
Frank knew he was just a cog in the wheel of this giant corporation. This term alludes to the role of the mechanical
cog, one of the teeth on a wheel or gear that, by engaging other teeth, transmits or receives motion. Used figuratively since about 1930, it sometimes is put as
small cog in a large wheel, emphasizing a person's lack of importance.
cognizance
cognizance take cognizance of to notice or recognize
slip a cog
slip a cog Also,
slip a gear or
one's gears. Lose one's ability to reason soundly or make correct judgments, as in
She must have slipped a cog or she would never have gone out barefoot in December, or
What's the matter with him? Has he slipped his gears? These slangy usages allude to a mechanical failure owing to the cog of a gear or a gear failing to mesh. The first dates from about 1930, the variant from the 1960s.
small cog in a large wheel
small cog in a large wheel see
cog in the wheel.