What is mean by 'wait in the wings'?

Question

What is mean by 'wait in the wings'?

Answer 1

waiting in the wings comes from the theatre i think, while they wait at the side of the stage for their go to go on.

Answer 2

It is a theatre expression.  The wings of the theatre are the backstage areas where actors wait for their cue to enter the scene.  The phrase is sometimes used to describe a person who stays back and waits for things to happen before making a decision about how they may interact with people in that situation.