up in the air
31
4.7
- idiom
:
en el aire
- The plans for the new park are still up in the air and need further discussion.
- very up in the air
- much up in the air
So it was up in the air who's going to be the new police commissioner?
- So it was up in the air who's going to be the new police commissioner?
- I, I take the punch line and I want to keep it up in the air as long as possible.
- But because there's still stuff left up in the air, we're still, we're going to still be engaged in watching this, you know, Right.
- But As for whether you're ready for a wireless AD router today, well, I think it's safe to say that that's still up in the air.
- You know, it's up in the air whether or not there was congruence of thought in that draft selection, let's say.
Examples
-
Her job situation remains up in the air after the recent layoffs.
-
Well, everything's a little up in the air right now.
-
So right now it's a little bit up in the air how the physical part of that will go forward.
-
Things are a little bit up in the air.
-
It's all so up in the air.
-
I think we can make it work, but it is all up in the air right now.
Blog text (9) -
"It's still very much up in the air how that system will work."
Blog text (10) -
And whether she will be able to play is still up in the air.
Blog text (3) -
Until then, your fate is still up in the air.
-
At the time, the fate of Nokia was still up in the air.
Blog text (19)
Synonyms
579
1.0
Not decided and still possible to change
149
2.8
Not known for sure and likely to change
75
2.9
Not yet sure which option or side to choose
56
4.4
A problem or question that is still not solved
27
7.2
Waiting without a clear decision or result
22
4.2
Not decided or final, for example a question, a plan
20
4.6
Not yet decided or known
Antonyms
How Certain
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal words ('up', 'in', 'air') give a clear image of something floating or not grounded, so learners who know the constituents can plausibly infer a sense of being unsettled. However, the specific meaning 'not yet decided' is a metaphorical extension rather than a directly compositional meaning, and its idiomatic use may not be fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Up in the air may come from the image of something left floating high in the sky and not fixed to anything. Because it is not steady or held down, people use up in the air to mean 'not decided'.