The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002. |
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trial balloon |
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A small campaign or test designed to gauge public response. The term originally referred to a balloon sent up to determine weather conditions: The speech on free trade that the candidate delivered last month must have been a trial balloon; the audience reacted with hostility, and he has not mentioned the subject since. | 1 |
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| The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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