up in the air
(redirected from be up in the air)up in the air
Uncertain; subject to change. Becky and I were supposed get brunch this weekend, but things are up in the air now because she's not feeling well. Because the whole town protested plans to build a new shopping center, that proposal is now up in the air.
up in the air (about someone or something)
Fig. undecided about someone or something; uncertain about someone or something. I don't know what Sally plans to do. Things were sort of up in the air the last time we talked. Let's leave this question up in the air until next week.
up in the air
Not settled, uncertain, as in The proposal to build a golf course next to the airport is still up in the air. This metaphoric expression likens something floating in the air to an unsettled matter. Put as in the air from the mid-1700s, it acquired up in the first half of the 1900s.
up in the air
COMMON If an important decision or plan is up in the air, it has not been decided or arranged yet. At the moment, the fate of the Hungarian people is still up in the air. This project is very much up in the air.
up in the air
(of a plan or issue) still to be settled; unresolved. 1995 Scientific American Prospects for federal research and development are up in the air as Republicans looking for budget cuts take control on Capitol Hill.
up in the air
verbup in the air
Not yet decided; uncertain.
up in the air
Unsettled, undetermined. This metaphor for unsettled matters floating about like clouds, or perhaps like birds flying in the air, was occasionally put simply as in the air. Thomas Jefferson used it that way in 1797 (Writings): “I consider the future character of our Republic as in the air.”