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hang in the balance
Idioms and Phrases
Be in a precarious condition or in a state of suspense. For example, The doctor said her life was hanging in the balance . This expression alludes to the suspended balance scale where an object is placed in one pan and weights are added one by one to the other pan until the two are balanced. [First half of 1400s]Example Sentences
“The life of a child should not hang in the balance between two parents whose anger for each other outweighs their love for their child,†Spitzer said.
Scotland and Wales' hopes of qualifying for Euro 2025 hang in the balance heading into the second leg of their play-offs, while it would require a monumental result for Northern Ireland to book their spot at the tournament in Switzerland.
His team’s bowl fortunes hang in the balance.
Six electoral votes hang in the balance.
All of this brings us back to Richard Glossip, whose life will hang in the balance during Wednesday’s oral argument before the Supreme Court.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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