When you do something with flying colors it means you do it very successfully?

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What Is the Origin of the Saying "To Pass with Flying Colours"?

To pass with flying colours means to pass with distinction. This term has a nautical history. It derives from when ships would return home with their "colours" (another word for flags) flying to show they had been victorious.

• Study hard, and you'll pass with flying colours.
• Dana passed her English exam with flying colours!
• I passed with flying colours. I was so nervous about that exam!

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To “pass with flying colors” means to be extremely successful, to achieve something that is difficult, to excel.

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From where did the phrase “passed with flying colors” come?

It derives from when ships would return home with their “colors” (another word for flags) flying to show they had been victorious.

A ship that had been unsuccessful would take down its flags.

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  From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwith flying colourswith flying coloursPASS A TESTif you pass a test with flying colours, you are very successful in it → flyingExamples from the Corpuswith flying colours• And they now look set to promote more harmonious race relations in the community after passing with flying colours.• Fortunately, like the other tests, the 31-year-old convent-educated beauty passed with flying colours.• He passed his exams with flying colours.• He would have passed it with flying colours.• Now he's gone back to driving school in an effort to pass with flying colours.• So far James has never given a scrap of trouble and has passed his MoT test with flying colours.• Trinity High School has just been inspected by Ofsted and come out with flying colours.• The Honey Thieves are a band who would graduate with flying colours from such a straight-forward system of appraisal.

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  To win, achieve, or accomplish something exceptionally well or very successfully. Said especially of a test, examination, or training of some kind. Samantha was rather nervous taking her final exam, but she came off with flying colors! It was the team's first time in a tournament match, but I know they'll come off with flying colors.

  Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.