balloon goes up

English

WOTD – 18 February 2023

Etymology

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

(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

balloon goes up

(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

The term is also used with other forms of the word go, such as going and went.

Related terms

when the balloon goes up

Translations

something exciting, risky, or troublesome begins

Finnish: h-hetki on
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

References

^ “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.

[1] “the balloon goes up, phrase” under “balloon, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022.

[2] “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.

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