lost in the shuffle

Idioms

Failing to stand out among others, as in In that huge economics class Jane's afraid she'll get lost in the shuffle. This metaphoric term alludes to mixing playing cards before dealing them. [c. 1900]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“West Altadena has gotten lost in the shuffle.”

From Los Angeles Times

Tariffs understandably grabbed headlines this morning, but before the decision came down there were two key pieces of economic data that got lost in the shuffle.

From Barron's

Peacock’s Winter Games from Milano Cortina, Italy, will be the biggest streaming spectacle of the month, and many rival services are essentially throwing in the towel, figuring any new shows will get lost in the shuffle of skiing, snowboarding and figure skating.

From MarketWatch

Kids are flowing out of other rooms, and I may have a chance at getting lost in the shuffle —but then I feel a sharp yank at my backpack.

From Literature

Nora herself gets lost in the shuffle.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023