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lost in the shuffle

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lost in the shuffle

ignored or forgotten In conflicts between doctors and insurance companies, patients' needs may be lost in the shuffle.

Usage notes: often used in the form get lost in the shuffle: Maybe your name got lost in the shuffle when we typed the list.

Etymology: based on the idea of losing a playing card when the cards are shuffled (moved around)

See also: lost, shuffle

lost in the shuffle

  (American & Australian)

if something or someone gets lost in the shuffle, they do not get the attention that they deserve Refugee children in the big camps just get lost in the shuffle and are sometimes left without food.

See also: lost, shuffle

lost in the shuffle

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]

See also: lost, shuffle