On the back burner means put aside for later, not a priority: we put the garden redesign on the back burner until the roof is repaired. It's a kitchen image: a pot on the back burner simmers quietly while all the attention goes to the front. The plan isn't cancelled; you'll come back to it.
When would you say on the back burner?
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put / keep something on the back burner; something is on the back burner
- We put the garden redesign on the back burner until the roof is repaired.
- The exhibition is on the back burner while the team finishes the archive project.
- She kept her podcast idea on the back burner during the busy summer season.
What changed
First versionThe website redesign is in the back burner while we move offices.
RevisionThe website redesign is on the back burner while we move offices.
Burners are part of a stove, and in can seem natural: in the back burner. But a burner is a surface the pot sits on, so it's on: on the back burner.
Shelve a project often means stop it for a long time, maybe for good, while on the back burner means it's waiting its turn. Call off means cancel completely. Put off means postpone, often to a specific date.
Your turn
The proposal has not been cancelled, but it is ___ the back burner for now.
Show the answer
on — The proposal isn't cancelled, only set aside, so it's on the back burner. There's no version with in.
Describe a task that isn't urgent, which you had to put aside for something else, and say when you'll return to it, using on the back burner.
We put the furniture repairs on the back burner until the new workshop is ready.
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