"up and running"

Posted by Miri Barak on October 10, 2004

In Reply to: "Up and running" posted by TheFallen on October 09, 2004

: : : : : I would like to know the exact meaning of this expresstion, I could not find it in dict.

: : : : : my context:
: : : : : "However, the minute I'd recover, I was off and running again". (she means to her speaking tours around USA).

: : : : : Thank you so much

: : : : In a horserace, the announcer says "And they're off," meaning that the race has begun or is underway and the horses are running. "Off and running" in this context means that she is again busy being back in the routine of her speaking tour.

: : : Thank you so much

: :
: : 'Up and running' would be the more usual phrase in the UK, I think.

: : DFG

: Yes I agree that it would, the image here being from athletics, rather than horse-racing, where sprinters rise from their crouch start as a race begins (up and out of the blocks). I think on reflection that there may have been two separate sporting expressions - namely "they're off" & "they're up and running" - which have melded together over the years in figurative usage.

Thank you for explaining, without knowing I translated that she is back to the startin point ready to run.