up and away
Moving quickly and continuously upwards, often with a sense of joy or excitement.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The colorful balloon went up and away into the blue sky.”
“As soon as the pilot finished the final check, the plane was up and away on its long journey.”
“With a sudden burst of speed, the rocket ignited and was soon up and away, leaving the atmosphere far behind.”
disputed origin
The general sense is older. It is evident that the sense referring to landing gear synergizes with the sense referring to being aloft and soaring away: the gear being up and away accords with the aircraft and its crew and passengers being up and away.
- 01
away game
An athletic contest played away from the team's home field.
- 02
away with the fairies
Not all there; slightly crazy.
- 03
bang away
to strike or hit repeatedly
- 04
bear away the bell
To be superior in something.
- 05
beaver away
To work hard at a task.
- 06
blaze away
To fire (firearms) repeatedly.
- 07
blow away
To kill (someone) by shooting them with a firearm.
- 08
blow the cobwebs away
To make changes for space for new fresh ideas
Last updated August 10, 2026