on the shelf

Definition

•

not noticed or not used

It's important to apply research in a practical way and not leave it on the shelf.

•

mainly UK informal describes someone, usually a woman, who is not married and is considered too old for anyone to want to marry them

In those days, if you hadn't married by the time you were 30, you were definitely on the shelf.

(Definition of on the shelf from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Synonyms and related words:

to worry

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