quick/slow off the mark

idiom

: quick or slow to act or to understand something
As soon as the opportunity arose, he was quick off the mark in exploiting it.
I was slow off the mark and missed my chance.

Examples of quick/slow off the mark in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The epigraph page alone gestures toward the Gospel of Luke, Cosa Nostra murders, communist atrocities and, for anyone still slow off the mark, Dachau, Auschwitz and Buchenwald. — Louis Bayard, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2023 The government has faced criticism from leading scientists, labor unions and opposition parties for being slow off the mark in securing the vaccines. — S'thembile Cele, Bloomberg.com, 15 Jan. 2021

Browse Nearby Words

quicksilvery
quick/slow off the mark
quickstep
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Cite this Entry

“Quick/slow off the mark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quick%2Fslow%20off%20the%20mark. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.

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