Expressão: "testing the waters"

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[portuguese]Quando você usa a expressão “test the waters” você deseja descobrir a opinião de pessoas relevantes ao que você deseja fazer antes de realmente continuar com o planejado. Este é um termo usado normalmente na política é nos negócios.[/portuguese]
[english]When you “test the waters” what you are doing is finding out the opinions of people before you actually go ahead and do what you plan to do. This is a term that is normally used in politics and business.[/english]

[portuguese]Exemplos:

I think we should test the waters before we open a hotel in this part of town.
It was clear to everyone that in his speech the Prime Minister was testing the waters.

Sports

Você também pode querer “testar a água” antes de entrar em uma piscina ou lago para ver se a água não está muito fria. Neste caso, “testing the water” tem o significado real de verificar qual a temperatura da água.

Americans Way

Expressões sinônimas usadas nos Estados Unidos podem ser “trial balloon” and “send out feelers”:

Bala sent up a trial balloon. It was a great success.
Don’t panic, Jyothi. It was just a trial balloon.
The trial balloon was a super flop.
Let’s put out a few feelers and see what the members think.

Fontes do artigo:
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/test+the+water/waters
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/edu/2002/03/26/stories/2002032600130204.htm

[/portuguese]
[english]Here are few examples:

I think we should test the waters before we open a hotel in this part of town.
It was clear to everyone that in his speech the Prime Minister was testing the waters.

Sports

People who go swimming usually test the water before they jump into it. They usually dip their toes or hands into the water to find out how cold or warm it is before they jump in.