wait and see

1. Bide one's time for events to run their course, as in Do you think they'll raise taxes?—We'll have to wait and see. This expression was first recorded in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719): “We had no remedy but to wait and see.” In Britain the phrase became associated with Prime Minister H.H. Asquith, who in 1910 so often said it to the opposition regarding an impending bill that he became known as “Old Wait and See.”

Example Sentences

Former Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said that Powell could use his press conference on Dec. 10 to send a message that this cut was an insurance move and the Fed would then wait and see how the economy reacts.

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The Bank's governor, Andrew Bailey, said he would "prefer to wait and see" whether inflation continues to drop back.

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“Let us wait and see, and do as the others do. But be ready. When it comes time to stand in line, you will have to scurry to the front to get porridge while it is still hot!”

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“Don’t worry, honey. Whatever the letter J means, it’s all going to work out, just you wait and see.”

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For that reason, Roberts acknowledged it’s possible the index committee might “wait and see if the market cap and the price move stick.”

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