lost on one


Have no effect or influence on one, as in Ned's attempts at humor were lost on Meg, or David's kindness was not lost on his aunt. This expression uses lost in the sense of “wasted.” [c. 1600] Also see you've lost me.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.