get off the ground

Idioms  

1. Make a start, get underway, as in Because of legal difficulties, the construction project never got off the ground. This expression, alluding to flight, dates from the mid-1900s. The similar-sounding get off to a flying start, meaning “make a successful start,” alludes not to flight but to a quick start in a race, a usage from the late 1800s. For example, He's off to a flying start with his dissertation.

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Example Sentences

Tourism is seen as key to bringing money into Wales but some projects like ill-fated racetrack project Circuit of Wales in Ebbw Vale never got off the ground.

From BBC

Woodburne wonders if Neighbours would have even got off the ground in today's world.

From BBC

The changes also would preserve fiscal sponsorship’s legitimate function of helping new nonprofits get off the ground.

From The Wall Street Journal

As for why a holiday event took about two decades to get off the ground, Grant cops to being a “canyon hippie” and says, “We took it one year at a time.”

From Los Angeles Times

Globally, technical and regulatory challenges have prevented the much-hyped flying car sector from getting off the ground.

From Barron's