Meaning of ships that pass in the night | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Two or more people who encounter one another in a transitory, incidental manner and whose relationship is without lasting significance; two or more people who almost encounter one another, but do not do so.
   plural, plural-only
2. Things which have no significant connection or commonality.
   broadly, plural, plural-only

Examples

“[H]e sat down and we got into conversation. There wasn't time to talk much. . . . We got along famously. But—oh, well, it was just another case of ships that pass in the night.”

“We very seldom work together on The Archers, we're rarely in the same episodes, so often we're ships that pass in the night.”

“They may have passed each other in the lobby or on the elevator of the building they worked in, but as far as I know, they never had the opportunity to even say hello. They were like two ships that passed in the night.”

“At one point, Gerry McIlroy had two jobs, putting in a 100-hour week as a cleaner and barman, while his mother Rosie worked a night shift in a factory. . . . Rosie and Gerry were like ships that passed in the night.”

“[T]he central figures in the action seem vaguely unrelated to one another, like ships passing in the night.”

“"Education and business used to be like two ships that passed in the night," said Delaware Gov. Pierre duPont.”

“In "Episode"—the opening dance—choreography, music, performances and underlying apparent themes looked like ships passing in the night. Nothing connected until a solo danced by a prowling, sensual Christopher Bonomo.”

“Ordinarily the missionaries' religion and the slaves' religion were like two ships that pass in the night.”

“As a connoisseur of enigmatic titles . . . the Gouldian title that gives me most pleasure is a joint paper, "Clams and brachiopods: Ships that pass in the night," in a learned journal.”

CEFR level