on a high note
6
4.2
- idiom
:
en una nota alta
- Thank you for making the 16-hour drive end on a high note.
- end on a high note
- go out on a high note
- finish on a high note
If Coach K wins this game, it'll be fitting and like he'll go out on a high note.
- If Coach K wins this game, it'll be fitting and like he'll go out on a high note.
- Just spread out the time, keeping in mind body language and keeping in mind ending on a high note.
Examples
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Not quite how I imagined it... but we can still end on a high note.
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And now, let's end this meeting on a high note.
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I guess it's best to go out on a high note.
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Learn to leave on a high note.
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I suggest we end on a high note.
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Better go out on a high note.
Blog text (16) -
The day ended on a high note with the second annual Gentlemen's JukeJoint Junket.
Blog text (5) -
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- The Smith College equestrian team ended the fall semester on a high note, earning the title of Reserve Champion High Point College and winning 26 top-four ribbons.
Blog text (30) -
The Black Bears rolled to their second straight blowout victory to finish off 2012 on a high note: a 55-6 thrashing of the University of Rhode Island on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Meade Stadium.
Blog text (13) -
The concert ended on a high note, leaving the audience wanting more.
Synonyms
15
4.1
With pride and happiness after a success
12
6.0
End something in a memorable and exciting way
4
3.0
Feeling very happy and full of energy
3
3.2
In a way that gives someone more confidence or hope
3
4.1
In a way that shows you have won after a contest
2
4.6
To finish in an exciting and memorable way
In a way that gives people hope
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'high' (positive/elevated) and 'note' (tone/quality) make it possible for a learner to infer a general sense of positivity or an elevated tone, so some meaning is recoverable from the parts. However, the conventionalized sense 'to end something positively' (the temporal/ending nuance of 'on a ... note') is a metaphorical, usage-based extension and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The idiom on a high note may come from music, where a singer ends a song with a strong, high note that feels bright and exciting. That's why on a high note now means finishing something 'successfully' or 'positively'.