on the table

1. Up for discussion, as in There are two new proposals on the table . [Mid-1600s]

2. Postponed or put aside for later consideration, as in When they adjourned, three items were put on the table until the next meeting . [First half of 1700s] The table in both idioms is a figurative conference table. Also see lay one's cards on the table .

Example Sentences

He recalled a night when he was 19 and going to a blues bar with fellow comedians John Belushi and Robin Williams, and “they put some blow on the table.”

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The most you could lose were the chips you put on the table; but if your number came up you made thirty, forty, even fifty times your money.

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And what to make of the "roadmap" on fossil fuels that Lula put on the table Thursday at the leaders' summit?

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“If you’re talking about democracy over the dinner table, it’s because you don’t have to worry about the cost of food on the table,” Axelrod said.

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Some travelers say they can’t afford not to travel, however, so they’re putting all options on the table — from booking rail tickets to gassing up their cars.

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