bide one's time

Wait for the opportune moment, as in The cat sat in front of the mousehole, biding its time. This phrase employs the verb to bide in the sense of "to wait for," a usage dating from about a.d. 950 and surviving mainly in this locution.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Theoderich	-	Ancient Germanic
Elihu	i-LIE-hyoo (English), ee-LIE-hyoo (English)	Biblical, Biblical Hebrew, English (Archaic)
Natalee	NAT-ə-lee	English (Modern)
Amandus	-	Late Roman
Cohen	KO-ən	English
&Aelig;Lfno&Eth;	-	Anglo-Saxon