On the table?

Reader question:

Please explain “on the table” in this sentence: Rain, wind and wet snow are all on the table in the coming days.

My comments:

According to the weather forecast, rain, wind and even wet snow are all probable in the coming days.

So, duck, dodge and do whatever you can.

In other words, stay home, bring an umbrella when you go out, dress warm and generally be prepared.

Here, bad weather is likened to, say, food on the dining table. Before dinner, mom or dad, whoever is in charge on this particular day, puts bread and butter on the table. Say, on this particular day, only a bread and butter are available for one reason or another. Then, of course, nothing else is on the table – not even water and milk, let alone plates of meat and cups of hot soup.

You get the idea – what’s on the table is what’s available.

What’s not on the table is not available. That means, of course, they’re out of the question – there’s no way you can eat what’s not on the table.

You can also see the “table” in the phrase “on the table” as the meeting table in a conference room. In this case, what’s on the table are documents and notebooks containing all the proposals and suggestions different people bring.

What’s on the table is what’s to be discussed, deliberated and talked about. What’s not on the table, then, is irrelevant and off limits. In other words, they don’t get to be talked about.

In our top example, bad weather being “on the table” means it is predicted to be available. Rain, wind and/or wet snow are all just around the corner. These scenarios are all probable in the coming days.

They’re certainly possible. Otherwise, the weather forecaster wouldn’t have mentioned them.

All right?

All right. Let’s read a few recent media example to see what’s “on the table” in various situations:

1. Garth Brooks may be planning something big for 2026.

The country music legend posted a message on his website and social media Tuesday that read, “New Year, New Music, New Tour. It’s All On the Table in 2026!”

Brooks seemingly implied that he is planning to release new material and tour this year.

“I’m an artist, I HAVE to make music,” the Grammy Award winner said in the message. “And I’m an entertainer, so I HAVE to take the music to the people.”

Brooks already has several shows on the calendar this year. He will perform at Summerfest on June 16 and 17, marking “a long-awaited return to Milwaukee,” Brooks’ website states.

Then on June 27, Brooks will headline Hyde Park in London, England. The Country Hall of Fame inductee will be joined by special guests Ashley McBryde and Zac Brown Band.

Meanwhile Brooks’ wife, fellow country star Trisha Yearwood, is set to embark on her own tour. She is slated to hit the road in March and end her run in April.

“My bride is touring through the first half of the year,” Brooks said. “Then we will see what may be waiting for us in the second half.”

- Country music legend teases new music, tour for 2026: ‘It’s all on the table’, MassLive.com, January 6, 2026.

2. President Donald Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill are downplaying his threats to take over Greenland by force. To them it’s just the art of the deal – hinting back to his popular 1987 book.

Republicans largely fell in line after Trump over the weekend ordered a strike that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro without congressional approval. Now, as Trump refuses to rule out military action to annex Greenland, some members of the GOP say his aggressive posturing is a bluff to secure a deal that gives the U.S. more influence over the Arctic island.

“He’s from New York, he’s one of the best negotiators and how he negotiates sometimes is everything is on the table,” Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., who was Trump’s Secretary of the Interior in his first term, said in an interview with CNBC.

“I think [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio is correct in that he’s downplaying that we’re gonna land the Marines on Greenland,” Zinke said. “I’d be supportive of negotiating a deal with Denmark to make sure that it stays influenced in the West.”

…

The effort has rattled European leaders and enraged Denmark, which, along with Greenland, has repeatedly denied Trump’s overtures.

“Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” wrote Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as the leaders of Italy, Spain and Poland in a joint statement earlier this week.

- Republicans doubt Trump’s Greenland military threat, say it is just the ‘art of the deal’, CNBC.com, January 7, 2026.

3. Bruno Fernandes’ future at Manchester United remains a topic of discussion, with reports suggesting that his teammates are “concerned he may leave” the club at the end of the season.

The Sun have reported that Fernandes’ companions at Old Trafford are fearful that United’s skipper and leading playmaker has had enough of the “shambles” at the club. The report adds Fernandes could seek a new challenge after the World Cup in the summer.

Fernandes was linked with a move to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal last summer, with a ￡100million transfer fee understood to have been on the table. However, he stayed at the club, despite the potential of tripling his salary.

A source told The Sun that “some of the squad think Bruno has had enough and, to be honest, they don’t blame him. He always gives 100 per cent and has been the club’s best player since he joined.”

The source also claims that the Portugal international feels let down by the new ownership model at United and Amorim’s sacking this week hasn’t helped. Last month, Fernandes claimed that United bosses wanted to sell him, but lacked the courage to go against Ruben Amorim.

Fernandes, who has a contract at Old Trafford until 2027 with the option of a further year, discussed a potential summer move in an interview with Canal+. “I decided not to go [to Saudi Arabia], not only for family reasons but because I genuinely liked the club,” he said.

- Bruno Fernandes has already addressed Man United transfer plan amid fresh exit fear, ManchesterEveningNews.co.uk, January 11, 2026.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：张欣）