be out of order

Here the entry recommends acting early before someone might “expect to be out of order” with their next period.

For example, if you’ve decided to tackle renovating your bathroom, you must first consider the amount of time that bathroom will be out of order and how you’ll be able to navigate without it.

But the books appear to be out of order — they’re not arranged alphabetically, or into the tried-and-true sections.

He says legislative leaders can address a member of the public who may be out of order, including removing them from the building.

“Is it not easy to imagine that they all laugh at me? And yet—Vincent Silver said the Machines cannot be out of order, and I must believe him. Hiram Mackenzie says they cannot be fed false data, and I must believe him. But the Machines are going wrong, somehow, and I must believe that, too,—and so there is still an alternative left.”