bide one's time

Verb

bide one's time (third-person singular simple present bides one's time, present participle biding one's time, simple past bode one's time or bided one's time, past participle bidden one's time or bided one's time)

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To wait, especially for a suitable opportunity.
   • Ravenswood, who had assumed the disguise of a sewer upon the occasion, answered, in a stern voice, “I bide my time”; and at the same moment a bull’s head, the ancient symbol of death, was placed upon the table.1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter III, in Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume I (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for...
   • I sat on the rug, biding my time / Drinking her wine / We talked until two / And then she said, "it's time for bed"1965, Lennon–McCartney, “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”, in Rubber Soul, performed by The Beatles

   Synonyms:

   cool one's heels, kick one's heels