miss a trick

verb

To allow an advantageous opportunity to pass by.

“John managed to make a profit on that old car you sold him. He never misses a trick, does he?”

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Meanings

verbmiss a trick (third-person singular simple present misses a trick, present participle missing a trick, simple past and past participle missed a trick)

present singular third person misses a trick · participle present missing a trick · participle past missed a trick · past missed a trick

  1. To allow an advantageous opportunity to pass by.

    John managed to make a profit on that old car you sold him. He never misses a trick, does he?

    1 more example

    Select someone who abuses children; select someone who fails to detect bombs; select someone who is an impostor; select someone who sabotages a plant; select someone who embezzles the company ... and you could be sued by the victims of the misdemeanor. You missed a trick and placed people in danger.

    2005, A. Furnham, The People Business: Psychological Reflections on Management

Origin

From card games, where trick means “a sequence in which each player plays a card and a winning play is determined”.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

miss a trick. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miss%20a%20trick

MLA

“miss a trick.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miss%20a%20trick. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “miss a trick,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miss%20a%20trick.

Source: miss a trick on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.