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Glite Dictionary
up and away

up and away

1 4.6
Started well and now moving forward quickly
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : en marcha
  • The team successfully launched the new product, and now it's up and away in sales.

Examples

  • And as Timothy peels out, spraying mud, we pull up, up, and away...

    Fiction book (1996)

  • After weeks of planning, our project is finally up and away, moving steadily towards completion.

  • With the rocket's successful launch, the mission is officially up and away, headed for the stars.

Synonyms

off and running
vsup and away
4 4.8

Started well and now making good progress

focuses more on an energetic launch or lively departure
onwards and upwards
vsup and away
  • Informal
1 4.6

Shows that things get better after hard times

highlights a successful energetic start rather than gradual recovery

Antonyms

failure
557 1.3

Not reaching what was planned or expected

standstill
35 3.5

A time when movement or activity stops completely

How Successful

thriving
6 3.8
successful
∞ 1.6
up and away
  • Informal
1 4.6
underway
336 4.1

Surface Forms

up and away main

Morphology

up + and + away

The phrase's meaning — having departed or launched and progressing — can be directly inferred from the constituents: 'up' (upward/improvement) plus 'away' (movement off/away) joined by 'and' to indicate combined motion. This compositional motion image is cross-linguistically common and follows transparent spatial semantics, so a B1 learner who knows the words would readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Up and away gives the image of something like a rocket or a balloon going straight up and then moving away fast. So it now means 'launched' or 'started with energy' and is used when a project or journey is going well and moving forward.