sit on the fence
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Avoid making a decision.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
It was far safer politically and economically to sit on the scientific fence.
But on the other hand we thought I suppose oh good riddance you know er rather than have a few er namby - pamby people you know sitting on the fence, we might be better off without them.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “sit on the fence” mean?
Avoid making a decision.
Is “sit on the fence” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.