off to the races
8
7.0
- idiom
- Informal
- We're off to the races!
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Watch on YouTubeNo audience, no opening statements, and we're off to the races.
- No audience, no opening statements, and we're off to the races.
- And if you can make them see that, boom, you're off to the races.
- So when I left, they just changed things up a bit and off to the races they went.
- Like, like, is there a percentage of the population number of adoption that we got to get to where suddenly we're off to the races?
- I listen, if I could ever convince you that you don't need shit, you would be off to the races.
- And you, you're off to the races with shakes and ice cream and mousse and all sorts of things that you can have with any of these patients.
Examples
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We're off to the races, boys!
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And then it was off to the races with printing it up to start building the prototype.
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And then I was off to the races and it's become a lot more since, but that's how it started.
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The Mosaic web browser arrived in 1993, and then we were off to the races.
Blog text (14) -
After months of preparation, we are finally off to the races with our new project.
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Once the funding was secured, it was off to the races for the startup team.
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With the first game of the season scheduled, the team is off to the races in their training.
Synonyms
168
3.5
To start an event or activity, often officially
30
5.6
Happens immediately at the start with strong energy or quick success
29
4.2
Start a project or business successfully so it begins to work
28
3.8
To start an event or activity, for example a speech
11
4.8
To start quickly and get an early lead
2
6.8
To start very quickly and with energy at the beginning of an activity
1
4.9
Start a new activity very successfully and make quick progress
1
9.3
To start an activity very quickly and with a lot of energy
Begin something very quickly and with a lot of energy
To start something very quickly and with a lot of energy
How Energetic
- Informal
12
3.7
23
3.5
- Informal
8
7.0
774
1.8
1
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase superficially combines 'off' (away/starting) + 'to the races' (going to a contest), so a learner might infer a literal meaning of departing for races; however the conventional sense 'something has started energetically' is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable from the parts. Because the motion imagery points toward 'beginning' but requires cultural/idiomatic knowledge to get the enthusiastic nuance, this is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Off to the races comes from horse racing: when the race starts the horses are literally off and the races begin, rushing forward. So, the phrase now means 'to start quickly and with energy'.