Test the waters Billy Jo 07/08/00 Billy Jo 07/08/00 Authors: trial balloons) (idiomatic) An idea, suggestion, or prospective action, product, etc. Harrison to test the waters after Origin blow. English [] Verb []. test the water (s) in American English to explore a possible course of action; approach initially See full dictionary entry for water Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. test the waters (third-person singular simple present tests the waters, present participle testing the waters, simple past and past participle tested the waters) To explore or probe, as before making a commitment. Help support the Grammarphobia Blog with your donation. New York had the highest population of Waters families in 1840. Waters FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions. Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Find more ways to say test the waters, along with related words, antonyms and example phrases at Thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus. expatriates of Indian origin are a better fit for assignments in India. Learn more. However, we found an example from the 1980s that uses “test the waters” in the sense of “take the waters” at a spa. A: The expression “to test the waters” (or “water”) has been used literally since the 19th century in the sense of testing water for its purity, chemical content, and so on. In 1840 there were 254 Waters families living in New York. In 1891 there were 1,583 Waters families living in London. As far as we can tell, the two expressions have nothing in common except the H2O, which they refer to either literally or figuratively. Enter your email address to subscribe to the blog by email. test the water (waters), to To try something out. #7 – test the waters = to test the waters means trying to discover a little more about a situation before you go ahead and become very involved. Origin: Origin is based on literal meaning of the idiom; to put your toes into water to see how cold water is , before plunging in it. The earliest example we’ve found is from a report in the February 1881 issue of the Canada Medical Record about an outbreak of typhoid fever at Bishop’s College University (now Bishop’s University) in Lennoxville, Quebec: “It appeared desirable to test the waters qualitatively as to their constitution, as to presence of ammonia or ammoniacal salts, chlorides, and organic matters, also for magnesia.”, The Oxford English Dictionary has a somewhat later citation from The Fatal Three, an 1888 novel by the English writer Mary Elizabeth Braddon: “I have tested the water in all the wells.”, In the 20th century, the expression “to test the waters” took on the figurative sense you’re asking about, which the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines as “to make a preliminary test or survey (as of reaction or interest) before embarking on a course of action.”, The earliest OED citation for this sense is from A Little Murder Music, a 1972 mystery by Diana Ramsay: “ ‘If you’re attempting to establish a motive—’ ‘I’m just testing the water,’ Meredith said.”, And here’s an example from Judith Krantz’s 1980 novel Princess Daisy: “ ‘I guess it’s just a lucky thing that Supracorp’s such a big business,’ Kiki said, testing the waters.”. Before I decided to become a full-time photographer, I tested the waters by doing a few projects to see if I’d enjoy the work. Open Menu. Walters FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis. Synonyms test the waters Related words & phrases put out feel feeler See also…. In 1911 there were 577 Waters families living in Ontario. while bathing a child you mix in a quantity of hot and cold water into a bucket/vessel and then dip your hand to test the water to make sure that it is not too hot or too cold. This expression, which alludes either to testing the purity of water in a well or to putting one’s hand or foot into water … test the waters name meaning available! test the waters name numerology is 3 and here you can learn how to pronounce test the waters, test the waters origin and similar names to test the waters name. The International Journal of Human Resource Management: Vol. Test the Waters Lyrics: Go out and test the water / I will push you further than you know / See every test gets harder / And every goal is further than the truth / Now I can see you're tougher / You Be the first to comment. 20, No. Another word for test the waters. test the water(s) definition: 1. to find out what people's opinions of something are before you ask them to do something 2. to…. trial balloon: trial balloon (English) Noun trial balloon (pl. Our network; Subscribe Log in. Alternative form of test the waters Entries with "test the waters" put out feelers: …I will put out feelers and see what I can find out about that. The Waters family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. Based on the popular Uncharted Waters series of games from Koei Tecmo, the development is led by studio Motif, formed by veterans from Nexon, XLGAMES and Netmarble, using Unreal Engine 4. Test the waters. What does 'testing the waters' mean? The most Waters families were found in the USA in 1880. This was about 58% of all the recorded Waters's in Canada. Skip to sections navigation Skip to content Skip to footer. 2, pp. No Comments Yet. Need to translate "test the waters" to Dutch? (2009). 269-285. And check out our books about the English language. Interpreting Idioms: When you encounter a phrase that seems a little bit out of place in a conversation or story, it might be an idiom. The Sydney Morning Herald. offered to an audience or group in order… Synonyms for test the waters include dip one's toe in the water, put out feelers, query, enquire, investigate, quiz, examine, interrogate, inquire and probe. The Waters family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English test the water/waters test the water/waters TRY something TO SEE IF IT IS GOOD to check people’s reaction to a plan before you decide to use it The government is clearly testing the water, to gauge the country’s reactions to their proposals. The phrase test the waters came into use in the 1960s and may allude to the fact that one sticks his toe in the water to test the temperature of a pool, lake, or ocean before diving in; it may allude to the fact that one tests the temperature of a bath before putting a baby in the water. Ontario had the highest population of Waters families in 1911. London had the highest population of Waters families in 1891. To test the water means to try something cautiously or approach something slowly, usually because you aren't sure what will happen or if the result will be positive or negative. Test definition is - a means of testing: such as. In Walter Lippmann and the American Century (1980), the biographer Ronald Steel writes: “During the summer of 1898, when with his parents at the resort town of Saratoga Springs, where New Yorkers of all classes retired to test the waters and bet on the horses, he met his first authentic hero.” (The hero was Admiral George Dewey, whose squadron had just defeated the Spanish fleet in the Battle of Manila.). Taking classes in a subject is a good way to test the waters and explore a potential career. Here's how you say it. Send him your invention questions at … Expatriates of host-country origin: 'Coming home to test the waters' February 2009; The International Journal of Human Resource Management 20(2) DOI: 10.1080/09585190802670532. The most Waters families were found in the USA in 1880. LINE Games today announced that it will conduct the first Closed Beta test for Uncharted Waters Origin later this year. Jump to navigation Jump to search. dip one's toe in the water Please enter the shop through the Arctic Entry, there you will find chairs and tables spaced 6-10 feet apart ensuring your, and our staffs, health and safety. 🅴 🆆🅰🆃🅴🆁🆂, T♥E♥S♥T♥ T♥H♥E♥ W♥A♥T♥E♥R♥S♥, ҉T҉҉E҉҉S҉҉T҉ ҉T҉҉H҉҉E҉ ҉W҉҉A҉҉T҉҉E҉҉R҉҉S҉, ㄒ乇丂ㄒ ㄒ卄乇 山卂ㄒ乇尺丂. This was about 14% of all the recorded Waters's in the UK. This was about 22% of all the recorded Waters's in the USA. The Waters family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. I can’t help wondering if it once had something to do with “to take the waters,” as at a spa. The literature on global staffing clearly identifies the challenges associated with But we’ve found many examples in database searches, including this one from Building the Baby (1929), by Carolyn Conant Van Blarcom: “Test the water with a thermometer or your elbow before putting the baby in.”, You asked if “to test the waters” once had something to do with “to take the waters,” a much older usage that the OED defines as “to drink or bathe in the waters from a mineral spring or spa for reasons of health or well-being.”. CK. Test the water to test the waters definition: If you test the water or test the waters , you try to find out what reaction an action or... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples test the water (third-person singular simple present tests the water, present participle testing the water, simple past and past participle tested the water) . … The possibility that India would test a weapon was considered, since it would be possible for the Indian Navy to operate in those waters so far south. Don Debelak is a new-business marketing consultant and the author of Bringing Your Product to Market (John Wiley & Sons). The study pushes back the clock on the origin of Earth's water by hundreds of millions of years, to around 4.6 billion years ago, when all the worlds of the inner solar system were still forming. Synonyms . As the first office of its kind in Northern Ontario, Aspin says the 30-month initiative is designed to " test the waters " in analysing the level of exporting interest among small- and medium-sized businesses in the North Bay, Temagami, West Nipissing, Mattawa and Almaguin areas. Posted by Claire on July 06, 2000. The most Waters families were found in the USA in 1880. If you are an old subscriber and not getting posts, please subscribe again. The earliest OED citation for the older “take the waters” is from The Yorkshire Spaw, a 1652 treatise by John French on four medicinal wells: “I approve not of taking the waters too fast.” However, we found an example from the 1980s that uses “test the waters” in the sense of “take the waters” at a spa. How to use test in a sentence. ‘A spokesman from the trust said: ‘The advert has been placed to test the water and we will monitor any interest.’’ ‘Everton boss David Moyes is also an admirer of the 27-year-old and may test the water with a bid this summer as he looks to increase the size of his squad.’ Thanks. Find more similar words at wordhippo.com! Grammar, etymology, usage, and more, brought to you by Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window). The earliest OED citation for the older “take the waters”  is from The Yorkshire Spaw, a 1652 treatise by John French on four medicinal wells: “I approve not of taking the waters too fast.”. Expatriates of host-country origin: ‘coming home to test the waters’. The OED doesn’t have an example for the expression used in the literal sense of testing the temperature of water, such as before going in for a swim or giving a baby a bath. Q: Do you know when the phrase “to test the waters” came to mean “to float an idea”? Another explanation is derived from the act of bathing a child. An example of test the water is when you tentatively start to bring up the idea of a raise to your boss, just to … When one attempts to find out if someone that they are into would date them / is interested in them. : It may have derived from the act of bathing a child--you mix in a quantity of hot and cold waters into a tub or whatever and you dip your hand in to test the water to make sure it is not too hot or too cold. I'm looking for the origin of the phrase "to test the waters." TEST THE WATERS HAS ALWAYS PUT SAFETY FIRST SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS GIVEN COVID 19:. ( idiomatic ) An idea, suggestion, or prospective action, Product, etc the USA, the dictionary! 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