wait for the other shoe to drop

verb

To defer action or decision until another matter is finished or resolved.

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Meanings

verbwait for the other shoe to drop (third-person singular simple present waits for the other shoe to drop, present participle waiting for the other shoe to drop, simple past and past participle waited for the other shoe to drop)

present singular third person waits for the other shoe to drop · participle present waiting for the other shoe to drop · participle past waited for the other shoe to drop · past waited for the other shoe to drop · alternative wait for another shoe to drop

  1. idiomaticTo defer action or decision until another matter is finished or resolved.
  2. idiomaticTo await a seemingly inevitable event, especially one that is not desirable.

    After the tournament, Player admitted that all through the final round he had been nervously waiting for more trouble. "It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop."

    1969 August 29, “Golf: The Confidence Man”, in Time

Origin

A common experience of tenement living in apartment-style housing in New York City and other large cities during the manufacturing boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Apartments were built with very similar designs, with the bedrooms located directly above and underneath one another. Thus, it was normal to hear a neighbor removing their shoes in the apartment above. As one shoe made a sound hitting the floor, the expectation for the other shoe to make a similar disturbance was created.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 提心吊膽 /提心吊胆
  • 提心吊膽 /提心吊胆 (tíxīndiàodǎn)to await an undesirable inevitability
Finnish odottaa seuraavaa vaihetta, odottaa seuraavaa iskua
  • odottaa seuraavaa vaihettadefer action pending another resolution
  • odottaa seuraavaa iskuato await an undesirable inevitability
Hungarian várja az elkerülhetetlent
  • várja az elkerülhetetlentto await an undesirable inevitability
Italian aspettare l inevitabile
  • aspettare l inevitabileto await an undesirable inevitability
Russian трепета́ть от стра́ха
  • трепета́ть от стра́ха (trepetátʹ ot stráxa)to await an undesirable inevitability
Cite this entry
APA

wait for the other shoe to drop. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wait%20for%20the%20other%20shoe%20to%20drop

MLA

“wait for the other shoe to drop.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wait%20for%20the%20other%20shoe%20to%20drop. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wait for the other shoe to drop,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wait%20for%20the%20other%20shoe%20to%20drop.

Source: wait for the other shoe to drop on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.