to set the wheels in motion
1
4.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
poner en marcha
- They're the ones who set the wheels in motion, and I suspect they thought they were doing the right thing, putting my name to it, giving credit where it's due, whether or not it was ever asked for.
Examples
-
They set the wheels in motion, and then when they woke up hungover the next morning, it was too late to stop the dastardly plan they had conceived.
Blog text (23) -
Robert Burwell, Bianca, Fontaine, and now her mother and brother spent anxious nights looking at the snowfall and up at the cold winter stars, but Doctor Wilton, who had set the wheels in motion, knew how the world worked and was given reason to be confident.
Fiction book (2002) -
But I'd already set the wheels in motion.
-
"You set the wheels in motion, you got me down here, that's more than enough."
Fiction book (2000) -
I stomped back to the basement and set the wheel in motion.
Fiction book (1990) -
As such, special provisions were set in place statutorily to streamline litigation and proactively set the wheels in motion towards the Supreme Court.
Academic text (2017) -
The committee's decision to reduce the budget set the wheels in motion for a series of changes in our organization.
-
Her determination to improve the community garden set the wheels in motion for more volunteers to get involved.
-
After months of planning, the announcement finally set the wheels in motion for the new project to begin.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To begin an action, event or process
426
4.5
To start something such as a project or discussion
422
2.3
To start doing something or to leave
36
3.5
To start moving or begin working on something
25
3.5
To make something begin to move or happen
21
3.4
To start doing something in a determined way
21
3.2
To take action that causes events or results
16
2.8
To start a meeting or project by taking the first step
10
3.8
To start an event or activity, for example a speech
3
4.0
To start a set of events where each event makes the next happen
3
5.2
To start something after getting everything ready
1
5.1
To start a project or activity
1
7.3
To make a machine start working
Antonyms
How Effective
1
5.3
504
3.7
- Informal
1
4.9
426
4.5
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
set + the + wheel + in + motion
The meaning 'to start a series of actions' is directly and predictably built from 'set' (to initiate) + 'wheels' (things that drive a mechanism) + 'in motion' (being moved), so the composite image clearly conveys initiating a process. This conventional mechanical metaphor is common across languages (e.g. Spanish 'poner en marcha', French 'mettre en marche'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will very likely infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase set the wheels in motion comes from the simple image of turning real wheels on a cart or machine; once the wheels start to turn, other parts move and a chain of actions begins. So, it means 'to do something that will start a series of actions or events'.