keep one's powder dry
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From the maxim "Trust in God and keep your powder dry", attributed to Oliver Cromwell; in the days of muskets, soldiers needed to keep their bags of gunpowder dry so they could load their guns at short notice.
Verb
keep one's powder dry (third-person singular simple present keeps one's powder dry, present participle keeping one's powder dry, simple past and past participle kept one's powder dry)
- To hold back on action until a future time; to save one's resources in case of emergency.
- 2014, Noah Feldman, "Alito's Day in Court", BloombergView:
- He’d for the most part refrained from any dramatic concurrences or dissents -- as though keeping his powder dry for Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the biggest religious-liberty decision in years.