to get the show on the road
3
5.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
dar inicio
- It's time to get the show on the road and start the meeting.
- Let's get the show on the road
- Time to get the show on the road
Examples
-
It was time to get the show on the road.
Fiction book (2002) -
Okay, it's finally time to get the show on the road now that everyone is here.
-
We gotta get the show on the road.
-
Gotta get the show on the road.
-
It's time to get the show on the road.
Blog text (15) -
Let's get the show on the road.
-
Okay, let's get the show on the road.
-
Come on, let's get the show on the road and begin the project.
Synonyms
422
2.3
To start doing something or to leave
38
4.2
Start a project or business successfully so it begins to work
36
3.5
To start moving or begin working on something
10
3.8
To start an event or activity, for example a speech
1
4.9
Start a series of actions that lead to later changes
Start an activity or event after getting ready
Antonyms
How Started
504
3.7
129
3.5
- Informal
3
5.2
481
1.8
- Informal
62
1.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
get + the + show + on + the + road
The words 'get' (cause/move), 'show' (an event), and 'on the road' (moving/underway) together hint at putting an event into motion, so a learner can partially infer the sense 'start or set something in motion'. However, the expression is a conventionalized idiom tied to the image of a travelling show and depends on metaphorical/cultural knowledge, so the exact idiomatic meaning is not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Get the show on the road comes from traveling circuses and performers who had to pack up the show and put it on the road to move to the next town, so when they were ready to move and perform they would 'get the show on the road'. So today it means 'to begin' or 'to start' an activity.