waiting games
Patience as tactics
Waiting games are strategies that rely on patience rather than action—deliberately delaying to gain advantage or wear down an opponent.
The phrase implies that inaction itself is the tactic: The union played waiting games with management, knowing time was on their side.
Often used critically to describe stalling or passive-aggressive behavior.
- temporizeDelay to avoid decision
- drawn outExtended past due point
- postponementDelaying to later
- clock-watchingObsessive tracking of hours
- pauseTemporary cessation of activity
patience · sit tight · biding time · impasse · linger · stalling · strategies · delay · bluffing · brinksmanship · negotiations · anticipation · slow burn · tension · stare down · time · withholding · cat-and-mouse
- Casual Gamestime killers
- runaroundsexcuses, stalling, avoidance, deflection, misdirection
waiting gamesfrontal assault
Attack from the front
direct action · blitz · taking the bull by the horns · preemptive strike · shock and awe
waiting gamesrapid response
Fast action to emergencies
fast-tracking · snap judgment · quick strike · rushing · haste
waiting gamesstraight talk
Honest, direct communication
laying cards on the table · candor · plain dealing · openness · calling a spade a spade
waiting, game, wait, waits, waited, waiter, waiters, waitress, waitresses