# now you're cooking

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/now-youre-cooking
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Used to praise someone for adopting a more effective or suitable method or approach, or to signal that progress is being made.

## Examples

- That is a much better idea, now you're cooking.
- You finally stopped using that slow software and switched to the new tool; now you're cooking.
- Once the team abandoned their outdated strategy and embraced the new data, it was clear that now they were cooking with real momentum.

## Origin

Derives from a version of the advertising slogan Now you're cooking with gas!, that entered the popular lexicon in the 1930s. See also cooking with gas.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.