🗓️ Idiom: On the Fence (adj)
💬 Meaning
- To be undecided or unsure about something.
- To avoid taking sides in a debate or decision.
🧠 Example Sentences
- Several team members are still on the fence about which direction to take the campaign.
- The client was on the fence and needed more data before committing to the deal.
- I stayed on the fence during the meeting because both proposals had strong arguments.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom likely comes from the image of someone sitting on a fence, neither jumping to one side nor the other representing indecision. It dates back to at least the 1800s in American English and has been commonly used in political and business contexts.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
She’s still __________ about accepting the job offer.
Answer
on the fence
2. Choose the correct meaning of “on the fence”:
A) To fully support one side
B) To avoid making a decision
C) To disagree with both sides
Answer
B) To avoid making a decision
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“He hasn’t decided whether to invest in the project yet.” → Change the sentence using: on the fence
Answer
He’s still on the fence about investing in the project.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
👉 Marketing and Sales Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit
Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
