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
Sheridan	['ʃeridn]
RÉAmann	-	Irish
Terrence	['terəns]
Johannes	yo-HAH-nes (German), yo-HAHN-nəs (Dutch, Danish), YO-hahn-nes (Finnish)	German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Late Roman
Jeannie	JEE-nee	English
Arafat	['a:ra:fa:t]