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domingo, 20 de julho de 2014

O que significa "to leave someone/something in the air"?

Yesterday, I was talking to a cousin of mine trying to set a time and place to meet before leaving for a skating event today. Although the conversation went on and on for quite a lot of time, it seemed we never got to what really mattered. So I told him: Please don't leave me up in the air. Nothing has been decided on when and where we're meeting tomorrow for the event. Do you understand the expression in bold text?

When you're left up in the air, it means you've been kept waiting for a decision. That happens when you need other people to reach an agreement but for some reason they can't. Maybe because they don't agree with your suggestions, they don't care for what's being discussed, they want things done their way, and so on and so forth. The thing is, when you're in a situation like that, you can say you don't want to be left up in the air, because in some way that decision you're waiting for is important to you.

Here's a different situation: You've been set up with a group for a very important assignment in school, and now you're trying to decide whose place the meetings will be held at. The problem is that everybody seems to have a problem at home. You're having your house renovated, one of your classmates' house is too small, the other's too noisy, etc. You think that'll delay the assignment forever and your group needs to get that matter settled immediately. So you say: Let us not leave this up in the air til the last minute, any place will do for now. When you leave a decision like that up in the air, you leave it undecided. It's like leaving something drifting in the air, moving neither up nor down. Actually that's what the expression alludes to. Many people have a hard time making decisions, they have a tendency to leave everything up in the air. That's it for today. Take care!

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