waiting game
11
4.7
- noun
- /ˈweɪtɪŋ ɡeɪm/
- Informal
:
táctica de espera
- As the jury deliberates, it becomes a waiting game with no clear end in sight.
So it was still a waiting game for us.
- So it was still a waiting game for us.
- The Blockade was very much a waiting game.
Examples
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When President Vladimir Putin succeeded Boris Yeltsin in 2000, India's waiting game paid off.
Academic text (2006) -
Mr. Bob, the drug business is a waiting game.
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This waiting game is killing me.
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I think that it is safe to say that all parents have played the waiting game.
Blog text (14) -
We then went down the road to the hospital, checked ourselves in, and played the waiting game.
Blog text (32) -
Surveillance is a waiting game.
-
After submitting their applications in February 2012, it was a waiting game for close to three months.
Blog text (26) -
For Hendo, the waiting game is over, and it's full steam ahead into the New Year.
Blog text (2) -
But this waiting game is a recipe for delaying economic and political reforms, impairing investment, and freezing old hatreds.
Academic text (2002) -
Now that the preparations are complete, we are engaged in a waiting game to see what happens next.
Synonyms
11
6.2
A deliberate delay used to gain more time
7
6.3
Delaying something on purpose to gain time or avoid a decision
1
5.1
A situation with no progress or decisions while people wait
Antonyms
How Patient
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase pairs 'waiting' (delay/remaining in place) with 'game' used metaphorically as a contest or strategic move, so a learner who knows both words can plausibly infer it refers to a strategy of waiting. However, using 'game' to mean a deliberate tactic is a figurative extension and may not be fully predictable to all B1 learners without contextual clues, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Waiting game creates a simple picture: imagine two players in a game who do nothing but wait, watching to see who will act or give up first. So it means a 'strategy' or situation where people wait to 'gain an advantage' or because they have no better option.