make the first move

Meaning

1. Oxford100% of films

   to do sth before sb else, for example in order to end an argument or to begin sth

   No, Frank, without any evidence, we've got to let him make the first move.

In the movies · 2

• I have made the first move. That is all they know.X-Men2000
• No, Frank, without any evidence, we've got to let him make the first move.The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!1988
• Yes, well, guilty people often make the first move.Hot Fuzz2007
• But you are the smart one, so you have got to make the first move.The Perfect Date2019
• ...you have to let him make the first move. It's only polite. So...Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban2004

From the same entry

• get moving
• get moving
• move heaven and earth
• move with the times
• get your ass in gear
• going forward
• move along
• move in
• move in
• move in
• move in with
• move off

More idioms

• make your skin crawl
• not take no for an answer
• pull the plug on
• put to the test
• put two and two together
• put your best foot forward
• same to you
• sign on the dotted line
• smile from ear to ear
• take under your wing
• the long and short of it
• think nothing of it