test the waters

to try something new We are testing the waters to see if online ads increase sales.

Related vocabulary: float an idea

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of test the waters (to put your toe into water to see how cold it is)

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Petras	-	Lithuanian
ŠTefica	-	Croatian
Romaine	ro-MEN (French), ro-MAYN (English)	French, English
Armo	AHR-mo	Finnish
Marcelo	mahr-THE-lo (Spanish), mahr-SE-lo (Latin American Spanish)	Spanish, Portuguese
Minta	MIN-tə	English (Rare)