how goes the enemy
- idiom
- Informal
:
¿cómo va el enemigo?
- When she entered the room, she smiled and asked, "How goes the enemy?"
Examples
-
So, how goes the enemy in your project?
-
He checked his watch and muttered, "How goes the enemy, I wonder?"
-
After a long meeting, someone broke the silence with, "How goes the enemy, anyone know?"
-
I often ask my friends, how goes the enemy with your studies?
-
After a long meeting, someone broke the silence with, "How goes the enemy, anyone know?"
-
He checked his watch and muttered, "How goes the enemy, I wonder?"
-
I often ask my friends, "How goes the enemy with your studies?"
Synonyms
48
2.4
To ask what has happened recently in someone's life
19
9.6
To ask how things are going, for example about work or a project
2
8.5
To ask someone how they are when you meet them
To ask someone how their work or task is going
Surface Forms
Morphology
The question pattern 'how goes ...' is a transparent, compositional way to ask about progress, so part of the phrase is predictable from the constituents. However, using 'the enemy' metaphorically to refer to a situation or the passage of time is a figurative shift that a B1 learner who knows the words would likely interpret literally and would not reliably infer the intended humorous/metaphorical sense without exposure. Because the structure is clear but the figurative use of 'enemy' is not fully predictable, this is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
How goes the enemy comes from old soldiers who would ask that question in battle to find out how the fighting was going. Today people use it jokingly to ask about the 'progress' of a situation or the 'passage of time', so it still means asking how things are going.