– Manuscript –
Welcome to English in a Minute!
This is a fence. Fences are used to separate two areas. But what could this idiom mean?
On the Fence
Speaker A: Okay, Anna. Have you decided?
Speaker B: Yes. No. For two days I have thought about the pros and the cons, but I am still on the fence.
Speaker A: Well, you can’t sit on the fence much longer. I need a decision. Do you want chocolate cake or vanilla?
Speaker B: I don’t know.
Someone who is “on the fence” has not made a decision or picked a side in some issue.
To sit on the fence means to be undecided. Someone who always has a hard time making decisions can even be called a fence-sitter.
*This article has been edited and reprinted from VOA Learning English with permission from Voice of America (VOA) for use in English language materials.
English 
日本語