lost in the shuffle

lost in the shuffle

Lost, ignored, or forgotten amid a confusing mix of things or during a chaotic situation. A: "Where's my homework?" B: "Here, it was lost in the shuffle on the kitchen table." There was a lot going on last month, so I'm afraid some of our usual obligations got lost in the shuffle. Don't sit all the way back there, or you'll get lost in the shuffle.
See also: lost, shuffle
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

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
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

lost in the shuffle

mainly AMERICAN
If someone or something gets lost in the shuffle, nobody notices them or pays them any attention. A lot of great bands are lost in the shuffle as the record companies try to get the widest market possible. It is quite possible that campaign finance reform will get lost in the shuffle of White House priorities. Note: When packs of cards are properly shuffled (= mixed), it is impossible to know where a particular card is.
See also: lost, shuffle
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

lose somebody/something in the ˈshuffle

(American English) (usually used in the passive) not notice somebody/something or pay attention to somebody/something because of a confusing situation: She was so busy at work, her marriage was getting lost in the shuffle. We feel that if schools are too big, it’s easy for a student to be lost in the shuffle.
See also: lose, shuffle, somebody, something
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

lost in the shuffle

Part of a large group and not standing out; lost in the crowd. The term alludes to the thorough mixing of playing cards before dealing, and was transferred to human beings about 1900. A piece by Damon Runyon in Collier’s magazine in 1930 stated, “I find we are about lost in the shuffle of guys with little mustaches.”
See also: lost, shuffle
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • lose somebody/something in the shuffle
  • be lost in the shuffle
  • shuffle
  • lost in the wash
  • lose to
  • lose to (someone or something)
  • get lost
  • Get lost!
  • lost on
  • lost on (one)
References in periodicals archive
Many of their fans were afraid that their dense mix of crunchy guitar, distorted, dissonant samples and chugging blues rhythms would get lost in the shuffle of Interscope's current library of sure-fire top 40 cash cows.
Toshi Reagon
For me, Michael almost got lost in the shuffle when many devotions became religiously passe in the wake of Vatican II.
Tough guy: when you need a warrior to combat the darkness, call on St. Mike to kick some butt
Seems we're all so busy trying to beat the other fellow in making things go faster, and look shinier and cost less that Christmas and I are sort of getting lost in the shuffle."
The joy of Christmas past
They get lost in the shuffle of resumes, or worse, don't bother to apply because of the tremendous number of lower-end jobs that they have to search through.
Newest real estate job network is seizing the day
But somewhere I got lost in the shuffle of papers, phone calls, deadlines, quotas.
Letter from the editor
What gets lost in the shuffle is much of the story's sentimentality.
Openings: Hans Op de Beeck
The high court recently threw out a challenge to "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, holding that the man who brought the case lacked legal "standing." The court's action captured headlines, but lost in the shuffle was a rather remarkable concurring opinion authored by Thomas.
Doubting Thomas: don't trust this justice's church-state views
Meanwhile, independent gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender films don't have the promotional budgets and get lost in the shuffle. Thanks to your rundown, I am now aware of (and look forward to) Testosterone, Cowboys & Angels, Proteus, Twist, and--specially--The 24th Day.
Iconic Nicole
"The Holy Spirit is often lost in the shuffle between God and Jesus.
The Holy Trinity: June 6, 2004
Sure, a couple billion dollars got lost in the shuffle, and some twenty-somethings had to move back in with mom and dad for a spell.
Left behind. (Political Booknotes)
Gilbert said that smaller independents with full-service capabilities are the ideal business partners for the large insurance companies which are not "leveragable" as well as medium and smaller accounts, because their needs won t get lost in the shuffle. "If you are a medium- to smaller-sized account, there is the general feeling that you won't get the top-line senior executive attention that smaller independent firms routinely provide," Gilbert said.
The War for Independents
Like all standards efforts, some pre-existing proprietary languages will likely be lost in the shuffle to create a unified voice markup language.
VoiceXML 1.0 Comes To Call
As it had done elsewhere around the world, Crowley opted for the port because it could demand and get more personalized service than the big-name ports, where shipping lines often get lost in the shuffle.
Torrential Tonnage
We may in fact be witnessing the subversion of the official liturgy in favour of a Canadian one--"a ballooning Canadian rite where the Roman prayers are lost in the shuffle." Moreover, a giant liturgical book is implicitly excluded from the hands of the faithful; instead of the beautifully bound daily missal which people used to bring to church, they are going to be faced with something heavy, expensive, and complex, so that they will have to rely on missalettes which are far from satisfactory.
Upcoming Roman missal: a lay perspective
But as the countless subsets of victims vie for a place on the Democratic Party's agenda, Mexican-American interests get lost in the shuffle. In part, they get lost in the shuffle because many Mexican-Americans don't see themselves as victims.
Mexican-Americans: The Ambivalent Minority