wait for the other shoe to drop en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
A common experience of tenement living in apartment-style housing in New York City and other large cities during the manufacturing boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Apartments were built with very similar designs, with the bedrooms located directly above and underneath one another. Thus, it was normal to hear a neighbor removing their shoes in the apartment above. As one shoe made a sound hitting the floor, the expectation for the other shoe to make a similar disturbance was created.
Meanings
- (idiomatic) To defer action or decision until another matter is finished or resolved.
-
(idiomatic) To await a seemingly inevitable event, especially one that is not desirable.
After the tournament, Player admitted that all through the final round he had been nervously waiting for more trouble. "It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop."
1969 August 29, “Golf: The Confidence Man”, in Time:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| waits for the other shoe to drop | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| wait for another shoe to drop | alternative | lexicographic | |
| waited for the other shoe to drop | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| waited for the other shoe to drop | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| waiting for the other shoe to drop | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Translations (6)
fi odottaa seuraavaa vaihetta (defer action pending another resolution) · fi odottaa seuraavaa iskua (to await an undesirable inevitability) · ru трепета́ть от стра́ха (to await an undesirable inevitability) · cmn 提心吊膽 /提心吊胆 (to await an undesirable inevitability) · it aspettare l inevitabile (to await an undesirable inevitability) · hu várja az elkerülhetetlent (to await an undesirable inevitability)