He put it out as a feeler.
"From the Housetops"
George Barr McCutcheon
The Stamp Act was passed as a feeler.
"Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution"
L. Carroll Judson
He wondered how much Mr. Bunner knew of the domestic difficulty in his chief's household, and decided to put out a feeler.
"The Woman in Black"
Edmund Clerihew Bentley