smooth sailing

Idioms

Easy progress, as in We had a hard time setting up the new computer system but it'll be smooth sailing from here on. The smooth in this idiom alludes to calm waters, free from big waves or roughness, a usage dating from the late 1300s. The transfer to other kinds of easy progress dates from the second half of the 1900s. Also see plain sailing.

Example Sentences

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smooth sailing

“I thought I had taken care of it and was going to have smooth sailing for 8 to 10 years and then get another one of the same thing,” Glannan said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

Development has not been smooth sailing though, with makers IO Interactive announcing a two-month delay to the release in December to "further polish" it.

From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026

“But the underlying structure still reads as anything but smooth sailing for equity investors.”

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 24, 2026

"We've been in this situation before where we have lost a game early and World Cups aren't always smooth sailing," he said.

From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026

I mean, in all the movies and TV shows, the popular kid who ascends from the depths of dorkdom has their day in the sun, and then it’s smooth sailing.

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

smooth sailing

Example Sentences

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