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.

---

Example Sentences

"Honestly, six weeks ago I couldn't even get off the ground. I was in a really dark place," Caudery told BBC Sport.

From BBC

Some smaller green hydrogen projects have already got off the ground in Namibia.

From BBC

The cost of setting up a processing system to recover these byproducts often overwhelms their market, so domestic production likely won’t get off the ground without government support.

From Barron's

Meanwhile, advocates and developers involved in successful community solar projects in California say they were difficult to get off the ground.

From Los Angeles Times

That meant the type of nitty-gritty negotiations needed to hash out potential structural changes to the sport never got off the ground.

From The Wall Street Journal