to get off to a flying start
- idiom
- Thanks to her enthusiasm, the team got off to a flying start on the new campaign.
Examples
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After weeks of planning, we finally got off to a flying start with the event.
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Sure got off to a flying start with him.
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You're getting off to a flying start.
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The Elis have gotten off to a flying start this season, and Saturday's performance provided another example of the Yale golfers' skill.
Blog text (13) -
The project really got off to a flying start after we secured the initial funding.
Synonyms
To become successful or popular very quickly
Start a project or business successfully so it begins to work
Started well and now making good progress
To start something quickly and give it extra energy to grow
Begin to fly, like birds rising into the air or projects starting to do well
To start a task quickly with a lot of energy
To start quickly and get an early lead
To start very quickly and with energy at the beginning of an activity
Begin something very quickly and with a lot of energy
Antonyms
How Successful
Surface Forms
Morphology
get + off + to + a + flying + start
The meaning ‘to begin very successfully or quickly’ is largely inferable from the parts: 'get off' (to start/get going), 'flying' (very fast/high) and 'start' (beginning), so a learner who knows the words can often guess the overall sense. However, the fixed phrasing and the metaphorical intensifier 'flying' are somewhat idiomatic and depend on collocational convention, so the exact nuance and naturalness of the expression may not be fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Get off to a flying start uses the image of a quick take-off, with get off meaning 'to leave' and a flying start like a plane or runner that lifts off and is already ahead. That's why it means 'to begin very successfully'.