out of gear en · ADP
Meanings
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With gears not engaged; idle.
The work went on, until the noon-bell rang. More clattering upon the pavements. The looms, and wheels, and Hands all out of gear for an hour.
1854, Charles Dickens, “Chapter 11”, in Hard Times. For These Times, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], →OCLC:
- Out of control; in disarray.