come a long way

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Make considerable progress or improvement, as in That's good, Rob—you've certainly come a long way. This usage, which transfers the “distance” of a long way to progress, gained considerable currency in the 1960s and 1970s in an advertising slogan for Virginia Slims cigarettes addressed especially to women: “You've come a long way, baby.”

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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Words nearby come a long way

come across, come again?, come alive, come-all-ye, come along, come a long way, come and get it, come and go, come apart at the seams, come around, come at

How to use come a long way in a sentence

In other words, fluoride is a broad-spectrum, bipartisan, long-lasting magnet for dissent.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile, in Florida, Bush was flooded with questions about whether gay marriage could possibly come to the Sunshine State.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
These generally come from the outside, from cultural pressures and messages.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And they might not have to wait that long to show their political heft.
Asian-Americans Are The New Florida|Tim Mak|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But there is an underlying feeling that the worst is yet to come.
Europe’s Islam Haters Say We Told You So|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It is most peculiar, and when he plays that way, the most bewitching little expression comes over his face.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
It was a decayed house of superb proportions, but of a fashion long passed away.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
"Capital, capital," his lordship would remark with great alacrity, when there was no other way of escape.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
In this way bundles of the plants are easily made, and in most cases these can be readily carried about.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
You would not think it too much to set the whole province in flames so that you could have your way with this wretched child.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini