All up in the air

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Alter Ego - 27 Nov 2006 11:23 GMT

Can anyone tell me the meaning of this expression: "they're all up in the
air"?

The complete sentence is: "And so all those wind and ocean current patterns
that have formed since the last ice age and have been relatively stable,
they're all up in the air and they change."

Thank you,

Æ

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Richard Polhill - 27 Nov 2006 12:16 GMT

> Can anyone tell me the meaning of this expression: "they're all up in the
> air"?
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> Æ

In a state of flux that makes it hard to determine any trend or pattern; chaotic.

Think in terms of playing cards: if they're thrown so that they're "all up in
the air", they'll be all mixed up and different ways around so that you cannot
determine their states.

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Alter Ego - 29 Nov 2006 02:02 GMT

Chaotic? Ok :)
Thanks a lot, for the explanation.

>> Can anyone tell me the meaning of this expression: "they're all up in the
>> air"?
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> in the air", they'll be all mixed up and different ways around so that you
> cannot determine their states.

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Richard Polhill - 29 Nov 2006 08:53 GMT

> Chaotic? Ok :)
> Thanks a lot, for the explanation.

Yes, but I should have said that it normally means a temporary chaotic state,
rather than permanent.

If a company is going through a major structural organisation then the
managers' roles and responsibilities could be described as "all up in the air"
while the roles are being defined, with the expectation that they would be
identified and documented in the near future.

Rich

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006

All up in the air