John mentioned the class presidency to Bill as a trial balloon to see if Bill might be interested in running.
The editorial was a trial balloon to test the public's reaction to a change in the school day.
Словарь американских идиом. — СПб., Изд-во "Лань". Оригинал: A.Маккей, М.Т.Боткер, Дж.И.Гейтс. 1997.
trial balloon — {n.} A hint about a plan of action that is given out to find out what people will say. * /John mentioned the class presidency to Bill as a trial balloon to see if Bill might be interested in running./ * /The editorial was a trial balloon to test… … Dictionary of American idioms
trial balloon — {n.} A hint about a plan of action that is given out to find out what people will say. * /John mentioned the class presidency to Bill as a trial balloon to see if Bill might be interested in running./ * /The editorial was a trial balloon to test… … Dictionary of American idioms
trial balloon — trial balloons N COUNT A trial balloon is a proposal that you mention or an action that you try in order to find out other people s reactions to it, especially if you think they are likely to oppose it. [mainly AM] They floated the trial balloon… … English dictionary
trial balloon — ☆ trial balloon n. 1. PILOT BALLOON 2. any action, statement, etc. intended to test public opinion on an issue … English World dictionary
trial balloon — trial ,balloon noun count an idea or plan that is suggested to people to see what their reaction is … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
trial balloon — noun 1. a test of public opinion (Freq. 1) • Hypernyms: ↑trial, ↑trial run, ↑test, ↑tryout 2. a balloon sent up to test air currents • Hypernyms: ↑balloon * * * noun, pl … Useful english dictionary
Trial balloon — A trial balloon is information sent out in order to observe the reaction of an audience. It can be used by companies sending out press releases to judge reaction by customers, or it can be used by politicians who deliberately leak information on… … Wikipedia
trial balloon — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms trial balloon : singular trial balloon plural trial balloons mainly American an idea or plan that is suggested to people to see what their reaction is … English dictionary
trial balloon — n. to float, send up a trial balloon * * * send up a trial balloon to float … Combinatory dictionary
trial balloon — If you test something such as an idea, a project or a product, to see how people respond to it, you send up a trial balloon. The idea seemed excellent but when they sent up a trial balloon the reaction was very negative … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
