plugged in, be

plugged in, be idiom
Be closely attuned or responsive, as in He couldn't make any important social connections because he just wasn't plugged in. The related expression be plugged into takes an object, as in These connoisseurs are plugged into the local art scene. These terms allude to inserting a plug into an electrical socket. [Colloquial; c. 1970]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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