in the wind

English

Pronunciation

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Prepositional phrase

in the wind

1. (idiomatic) Impending or in the offing; imminent.
   • 1594, William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors, act 3, scene 1:

     There is something in the wind, that we cannot get in.

   • 1892, Rudyard Kipling, “Tommy”, in Barrack-room Ballads, line 31:

     There's trouble in the wind, my boys.

   • 2008 March 19, Fred Weir, “In Moscow, Rice signals warmer US-Russia ties”, in Christian Science Monitor‎, retrieved 21 October 2010:

     A grand strategic bargain between Russia and the US could be in the wind, after years of deteriorating relations.

   • 2023 March 22, 'Industry Insider', “Restoring Your Railway”, in RAIL, number 979, page 68:

     In this period, road building continued unabated, but change was in the wind as the UK government recognised it had to make more use of the rail network and increase investment on a scale that it could not afford, and which would require private sector participation.

2. (idiomatic) At whereabouts unknown, especially when law enforcement authorities have lost track of one's location.

Synonyms

• (imminent): afoot, imminent, in the works, proximate; see also Thesaurus:impending
• (at whereabouts unknown): at large, on the lam, on the loose, on the run, untraceable

References

• “in the wind”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “in the wind”, in Collins English Dictionary.