put out feelers

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put out feelers

Where it comes from

An allusion to animals which use their feelers to gain awareness of their surroundings.

verb puts out feelers · putting out feelers · put out feelers

idiomatic To explore or watch for; to ask around; to investigate. I will put out feelers and see what I can find out about that.
Similar: test the waters

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MLA

"put out feelers." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/put%20out%20feelers. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

put out feelers. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/put%20out%20feelers

Chicago

"put out feelers." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/put%20out%20feelers.

BibTeX

@misc{put_out_feelers_2026,
  title = {put out feelers},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/put%20out%20feelers},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}