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
Iines	EE:-nes	Finnish
Kaja (2)	KIE-ah (Polish)	Polish, Slovene
Arlene	[a:'li:n]
Russ	RUS	English
Amon	AH-mun (English)	Egyptian Mythology (Anglicized)
Jaakkima	YAH:K-kee-mah	Finnish