trial balloon


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trial balloon

n.
An idea or a plan advanced tentatively to test the reactions of other people.
[From the use of balloons to test weather conditions.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

trial balloon

n
a tentative action or statement designed to test public opinion on a controversial matter. Compare ballon d'essai
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tri′al balloon′


n.
a preliminary announcement or other effort made to determine the likely success of a proposed project.
[1930–35]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.trial balloon - a test of public opiniontrial balloon - a test of public opinion    
test, trial run, tryout, trial - trying something to find out about it; "a sample for ten days free trial"; "a trial of progesterone failed to relieve the pain"
2.trial balloon - a balloon sent up to test air currentstrial balloon - a balloon sent up to test air currents
balloon - large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Mentioned in ?
References in classic literature ?
To distract his thoughts he drove that day to the village of Vorontsovo to see the great balloon Leppich was constructing to destroy the foe, and a trial balloon that was to go up next day.
View in context
In Eisenman's Minotaur Hunt, a mural presented as an installation at New York's Trial Balloon Gallery earlier this year, bulky Amazons hunted down virile Cubist icons amid a throng of spectators who grappled and shoved with spears and swords, as if in a war scene by Uccello.
Nicole Eisenman
But the trial balloon story is a perfectly legitimate exercise, so long as that is what the article says it is presenting.
Beware of transition traps
Joey Salceda has floated a trial balloon: We need to bring in Chinese or even Burmese labor, he said.
The Chinese among us
McFarland, a Fox News national security analyst who ran as a Republican in 2006 for the New York Senate seat, has said that the rumours could just be a "trial balloon" out by Albany rather than Washington.
Obama campaign rejects claim Biden may be replaced by Cuomo on 2012 ticket
As such, what Turki was saying might best be viewed as a trial balloon rather than adopted policy.
Saudis think about replacing Iran's oil
Democrats and Pro-Israel Lobbies Slam Republican Senator's Call to Halt Israel Aid [Haaretz] Earlier: Cantor's Foreign Aid 'Trial Balloon' Is Popped
Tea Party Senator Endorses End of Israeli Aid
The New York, City mayor takes the air out of Washington Post columnist David Broder's fantasy Bloomberg-Chuck Hagel presidential ticket trial balloon.
F&J Tote board
But the mammoth trial balloon the federal government is floating--privatization of Social Security--cannot replicate the benefits of the program now in place.
Advisors who focus on the whole senior are needed
His announcement is viewed as a trial balloon to gauge public sentiment about future policy.
Senior Israeli Official Says More West Bank Settlement Dismantling Coming
Apparently flushed with victory after imposing an unmerited financial settlement on the alternative-paper publishers NT Media LLC and Village Voice Media LLC for ending their competitions in Cleveland and Los Angeles, the Antitrust Division is floating a trial balloon about stopping the JOA dissolution.
OZ IN THE EMERALD CITY
"It's a trial balloon," cautions the show's exec producer Marlaine Selip.
`Donahue' ratings look livelier with live stint. (Phil In The Blanks)

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