Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb idiomatic To
defer action ordecision until another matter isfinished orresolved . - verb idiomatic To
await a seeminglyinevitable event, especially one that is notdesirable .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
A common experience of tenement living and other similar style housing in New York City (and other cities) during the manufacturing boom of the late 19th and early 20th century. Apartments were built similar in design with one's bedroom under another's. Thus, it was normal to hear a neighbor removing shoes and hearing them hit the floor above. As one shoe made a sound hitting the floor, the expectation for the other shoe to make a similar sound was created.
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Examples
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