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Wait for the other shoe to drop Meaning in English

expression

WAYT fer thuh UTH-er SHOO tuh DROP
WAYT faw thuh UTH-uh SHOO too DROP

Definition

To expect that something bad or unpleasant will happen soon, usually because something negative has already started.

Usage & Nuances

This idiom is informal and often used in situations where one negative event has occurred and more are expected. People say it to express anxiety or anticipation of further bad news. Not used for positive or neutral scenarios.

Spanish: esperar que pase lo peor - esperar el siguiente problemaPortuguese (BR): esperar a próxima má notícia - aguardar que algo ruim aconteçaPortuguese (PT): esperar pelo próximo problema - aguardar que aconteça algo mauChinese (Simplified): 等待坏事发生 - 等另一只靴子落下Chinese (Traditional): 等著壞事發生 - 等另一隻靴子掉下Hindi: अगले बड़े झटके का इंतज़ार करना - कुछ बुरा होने की प्रतीक्षा करनाArabic: انتظار الأسوأ - انتظار وقوع الأمر التالي السيئBengali: পরবর্তী খারাপ কিছু ঘটার অপেক্ষায় থাকাRussian: ждать, когда грянет беда - ждать следующей неприятностиJapanese: 悪いことが起きるのを待つ - 次の不幸が起こるのを待つVietnamese: chờ điều tồi tệ tiếp theo xảy raKorean: 더 안 좋은 일이 일어나길 기다리다Turkish: kötü bir şeyin olmasını beklemekUrdu: کسی ناگوار واقعے کے ہونے کا انتظار کرناIndonesian: menunggu hal buruk berikutnya terjadi

Example Sentences

After hearing about the budget cuts, we all waited for the other shoe to drop.

basic

He apologized, but I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

basic

Everyone was nervous, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

basic

After that first mistake, I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop all day.

natural

The meeting was going too smoothly, so I started waiting for the other shoe to drop.

natural

Whenever things go well for a while, I can't help but wait for the other shoe to drop.

natural