in the balance

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*in the balance

in an undecided state; at risk. (*Typically: be ~; hang ~.) He stood on the edge of the cliff, his life in the balance. With his fortune in the balance, John rolled the dice.

See also: balance

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? References in classic literature
He was continually encouraging her tendency to affectation (which I had done my utmost to crush), talking about her pretty face, and filling her head with all manner of conceited notions concerning her personal appearance (which I had instructed her to regard as dust in the balance compared with the cultivation of her mind and manners); and I never saw a child so susceptible of flattery as she was. Agnes Grey by Bronte, Anne View in context This sight, together with the routing of the enemy's left wing by Prince Edward, so cheered and inspired the royalists that the two remaining divisions took up the attack with refreshed spirits so that what a moment before had hung in the balance now seemed an assured victory for King Henry. The Outlaw of Torn by Burroughs, Edgar Rice View in context It may not be purchased of the merchants, nor can it be weighed out in the balance for gold. The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Wilde, Oscar View in context More results

? References in classic literature

He was continually encouraging her tendency to affectation (which I had done my utmost to crush), talking about her pretty face, and filling her head with all manner of conceited notions concerning her personal appearance (which I had instructed her to regard as dust in the balance compared with the cultivation of her mind and manners); and I never saw a child so susceptible of flattery as she was.

Agnes Grey by Bronte, Anne View in context

This sight, together with the routing of the enemy's left wing by Prince Edward, so cheered and inspired the royalists that the two remaining divisions took up the attack with refreshed spirits so that what a moment before had hung in the balance now seemed an assured victory for King Henry.

The Outlaw of Torn by Burroughs, Edgar Rice View in context

It may not be purchased of the merchants, nor can it be weighed out in the balance for gold.

The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Wilde, Oscar View in context

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