0 something that is done or announced as a test in order to find out how people would react to something similar:
The administration floated a trial balloon on immigration reform earlier this summer, indicating that it was considering a legalization plan.
A lot of things I write I put on my website first, sort of as trial balloons.
Many analysts saw the meeting as a trial balloon intended to gauge the level of interest and resistance to such a move.
Often a lower-ranking official has floated a trial balloon to see what the reaction would be to that kind of statement.
