see how the land lies

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

see how the land lies (third-person singular simple present sees how the land lies, present participle seeing how the land lies, simple past saw how the land lay, past participle seen how the land lay)

1. (UK) To wait for all the information about something before taking action.

   Synonym: find out how the land lies

Related terms

• lay of the land

See also

• test the waters

Further reading

• “how the land lies”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “how the land lies”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “find out see how the land lies”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.