1. Home
2. Idioms
3. trial balloon

trial balloon

---

---

trial balloon

a test of someone's or the public's reaction. It was just a trial balloon, and it didn't work. The trial balloon was a great success.

See also: balloon, trial

trial balloon

An idea or plan advanced tentatively to test public reaction, as in Let's send up a trial balloon for this new program before we commit ourselves. This expression alludes to sending up balloons to test weather conditions. [c. 1930]

See also: balloon, trial

trial balloon

n. a test of someone’s reaction. It was just a trial balloon, and it didn’t work.

See also: balloon, trial