to keep on ice
2
7.9
- phrasal verb
:
mantener en espera
- We told you to keep them on ice.
Examples
-
I'm wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice.
-
You know if you could keep her on ice for a few more days, I'd appreciate it, Joe.
-
I've kept that contract on ice a long time for you, Mike.
-
He told me you'd show up, said to keep you here on ice 'til he gets here.
-
Samples were kept on ice for later processing (Maharaj, 1989).
Academic text (1991) -
We'll keep these plans on ice until we have more information.
-
You can keep on ice that idea for now and present it later.
-
The team decided to keep on ice their negotiations until the new year.
Synonyms
∞
1.3
To keep something for someone to use later
∞
1.0
Keep something for use later
145
3.1
To keep something for a particular person or purpose
113
2.9
Delay something until a later time
78
3.8
To wait before doing something
54
3.1
Leave an option available for later use
37
4.2
To wait before doing something
26
4.6
To keep a large supply of goods for future use
23
3.0
Keep something to use at a later time
17
3.2
Keep something for later use
15
5.5
To delay something until a later time
14
3.7
Keep something available while you delay a final decision
11
5.8
To delay a plan or project for a while
11
5.0
To stop work on a plan or project for now
2
2.8
Save part of something to use later
1
4.6
To keep something for use or sale after its planned time
Antonyms
How Immediate
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase evokes the literal image of storing/preserving something on ice (keep + on + ice), so a learner can partially infer a sense of preservation or holding. However, the specific idiomatic extension to 'postpone' or 'keep in reserve' is a metaphorical shift that is not fully predictable from the parts and may require prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Keep on ice comes from the image of using ice to keep food fresh until you want to use it. So it now means 'to postpone' or hold something 'in reserve' until a better time.