"asleep at the switch" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "Probably an allusion to the important responsibilities of a railway switchman.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "adjective"
      },
      "expansion": "asleep at the switch",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1909, Clinton Rogers Woodruff, “Municipal Review 1907-1908,”, in The American Journal of Sociology, volume 14, number 4, page 488",
          "text": "His vote demonstrates that the people of Philadelphia are not asleep at the switch, are not indifferent to their political duties.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 10, in Right Ho, Jeeves",
          "text": "My guardian angel had not been asleep at the switch.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1974, S. D. Isard, \"Review of Computer Models of Thought and Language,\" Science, New Series, vol. 186, no. 4164 (15 Nov.), p. 625",
          "text": "It is sometimes difficult to guess whether a sentence has been garbled by the author or the typesetter. . . . In either case, the editors were asleep at the switch."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Donald Bartlett and James Steele, \"Asleep at the Switch,\" Time, 13 Oct.",
          "text": "Why America (but not Canada) failed to set up a needed synfuels industry."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Neglectful of an important task, responsibility, or opportunity."
      ],
      "id": "en-asleep_at_the_switch-en-adj-ZjarOtNi",
      "links": [
        [
          "Neglectful",
          "neglectful"
        ],
        [
          "important",
          "important"
        ],
        [
          "task",
          "task"
        ],
        [
          "responsibility",
          "responsibility"
        ],
        [
          "opportunity",
          "opportunity"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Neglectful of an important task, responsibility, or opportunity."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-asleep at the switch.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b8/En-au-asleep_at_the_switch.ogg/En-au-asleep_at_the_switch.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/En-au-asleep_at_the_switch.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "asleep at the switch"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "Probably an allusion to the important responsibilities of a railway switchman.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "adjective"
      },
      "expansion": "asleep at the switch",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English adjectives",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1909, Clinton Rogers Woodruff, “Municipal Review 1907-1908,”, in The American Journal of Sociology, volume 14, number 4, page 488",
          "text": "His vote demonstrates that the people of Philadelphia are not asleep at the switch, are not indifferent to their political duties.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 10, in Right Ho, Jeeves",
          "text": "My guardian angel had not been asleep at the switch.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1974, S. D. Isard, \"Review of Computer Models of Thought and Language,\" Science, New Series, vol. 186, no. 4164 (15 Nov.), p. 625",
          "text": "It is sometimes difficult to guess whether a sentence has been garbled by the author or the typesetter. . . . In either case, the editors were asleep at the switch."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Donald Bartlett and James Steele, \"Asleep at the Switch,\" Time, 13 Oct.",
          "text": "Why America (but not Canada) failed to set up a needed synfuels industry."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Neglectful of an important task, responsibility, or opportunity."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Neglectful",
          "neglectful"
        ],
        [
          "important",
          "important"
        ],
        [
          "task",
          "task"
        ],
        [
          "responsibility",
          "responsibility"
        ],
        [
          "opportunity",
          "opportunity"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Neglectful of an important task, responsibility, or opportunity."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-asleep at the switch.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b8/En-au-asleep_at_the_switch.ogg/En-au-asleep_at_the_switch.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/En-au-asleep_at_the_switch.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "asleep at the switch"
}