Is 'slip out of my mind' correct in this context?

Question

Let's say my friend asks me to buy something form the grocery store but I forget about it.

Friend: Did you get that thing?

Me: Oh, so sorry, it completely slipped out of my mind.

Is the expression correct? Or should I use something else in its place?

FakeDIY · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-11 15:57:23Z

18

Your original expression would be understood perfectly but a native speaker would almost certainly say

I'm sorry, it slipped my mind.

answered Apr 10 '13 at 15:34

FakeDIY

93367

4

This native speaker would be just as likely to say slipped out of. – Barrie England Apr 10 '13 at 16:24
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This native speaker notes that Google Books claims 95,800 instances of "it slipped my mind", but only 1,780 instances of "it slipped out of my mind". Personally I'd almost always use the former, but I don't see anything wrong with either. – FumbleFingers Apr 10 '13 at 17:07
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@FumbleFingers: The only thing I see "wrong" with "slipped out of my mind" is that I read it first as [slipped] [out of my mind], with "out of my mind" meaning "crazy/hysterical" and then have to correct myself, making it seem unnatural and making it much more distracting than the easier to read "it slipped my mind" – Matt Apr 10 '13 at 18:10
That hardly justifies suggesting there's anything "wrong" with explicitly including the prepositions. You can discard them in certain other contexts, such as The dog slipped the leash, but you certainly can't in most contexts - When the police broke down the front door in a "dawn raid", the suspect slipped out [of] the back door. – FumbleFingers Apr 10 '13 at 19:11
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Slipped out of is perfectly fine. – Noah Apr 10 '13 at 22:35

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