raise the flag and see who salutes

verb

To float an idea, (or otherwise do some action) to see what response or controversy it generates, usually as a preliminary step.

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Meanings

verbraise the flag and see who salutes (third-person singular simple present raises the flag and sees who salutes, present participle raising the flag and seeing who salutes, simple past raised the flag and saw who saluted, past participle raised the flag and seen who saluted)

present singular third person raises the flag and sees who salutes · participle present raising the flag and seeing who salutes · past raised the flag and saw who saluted · participle past raised the flag and seen who saluted · alternative send it up the flagpole and see who salutes · alternative send it up the flagpole

  1. USidiomaticTo float an idea, (or otherwise do some action) to see what response or controversy it generates, usually as a preliminary step.

    Much of the discourse on and the spirit of group interaction have an improvisational flavor: we “float trial balloons” in the groups we belong to or “raise a flag and see who salutes.”

    1996, Jo Ann Oravec, Virtual individuals, virtual groups: Human Dimensions of Groupware and Computer Networking, page 312
Cite this entry
APA

raise the flag and see who salutes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20the%20flag%20and%20see%20who%20salutes

MLA

“raise the flag and see who salutes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20the%20flag%20and%20see%20who%20salutes. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “raise the flag and see who salutes,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20the%20flag%20and%20see%20who%20salutes.

Source: raise the flag and see who salutes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.