in the wings

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, waiting in the wings . Nearby in the background, available on short notice. For example, Some police were in the wings in case of trouble at the rally , or There are at least a dozen young managers waiting in the wings for Harold to retire . This expression alludes to the theater, where a player waits in the wings or backstage area, unseen by the audience, for his or her turn to come on stage. [Second half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“We have to be aware of what you see in the wings when the cameras on the stage are following the performers,” Groom says.

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Hurricane Katrina is waiting in the wings.

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There are other potential superstars waiting in the wings - Marko Gazzotti, the brilliant 20-year-old back-row from Bordeaux; Emilien Gailleton, the outstanding 21-year-old centre from Pau; Nicolas Depoortere, already an important figure in a magnificent Bordeaux backline at the age of 22.

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Wu, sporting a cross of ash on her forehead, with her two-month-old baby waiting in the wings, boasted about Boston’s immigrant heritage.

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Union officials said they did not know if there was already a new owner in the wings.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

in the wind in the works

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