balloon goes up
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]
Probably from the releasing of a balloon as a signal for an event to begin,[1] possibly popularized by the use of balloons by the British Army during World War I (1914–1918) as a signal for artillery fire to commence.[2]
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /bəˌluːn ɡəʊz ˈʌp/
- (General American) IPA(key): /bəˌlun ɡoʊz ˈʌp/
Audio (General Australian): (file) - Rhymes: -ʌp
- Hyphenation: bal‧loon goes up
Phrase
[edit]- (idiomatic) Chiefly preceded by the: something exciting, risky, or troublesome begins. [from early 20th c.]
- ― When is your job interview?
― The balloon goes up at 10 tomorrow.
- 1932 August 17, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter 16, in Hot Water, Woodstock, New York, N.Y.: The Overlook Press, published 1983, →ISBN, page 209:
- This was the moment when he must put his fortune to the test, to win or lose it all. Now or never must the balloon go up.
- 1963 March 22, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter 16, in Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (Perennial Library; P668), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row, published 1983, →ISBN, page 129:
- "Then may I tell Harold that the balloon's going up?" said Stiffy. / "I beg your pardon?" / "I mean it's official about this vicarage?"
- 1980 April 15, Joseph P[atrick] Addabbo (chairman, Subcommittee on the Department of Defense), Donald R[aymond] Keith (witness), “Army Research and Development”, in Department of Defense Appropriations for 1981: Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, Second Session […] Part 3: Research, Development, and Acquisition, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 681:
- Mr. Addabbo. […] But TACFIRE, because it is big and noisy and radiates heat, is vulnerable. If the balloon goes up TACFIRE won't last long. It is also very old technology. / […] General Keith. […] What I am saying is if the balloon goes up tomorrow, we will have something over the next few years to greatly enhance the efficiency of our field artillery. […] I cannot tell you when we will be able to say when the balloon goes up we have got something that is that much better.
Usage notes
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]something exciting, risky, or troublesome begins
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ “the balloon goes up, phrase” under “balloon, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022.
- ^ “balloon goes up, the”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2003, →ISBN.
