Doing Well: The Origin Story 🌈
Keep going; you’re on the right track/doing well. This term dates from the early twentieth century, and there is some dispute over its origin. Several sources trace it to the 1920s in African-American speech. Another perspective holds it is an American version of the British Bang on!, invoked by airmen during World War II, or possibly a shortening of Right on target. Yet another proposes that it stems from Right on cue, incorporating the precision of uttering the correct lines in a play.
One notable example of its usage comes from Kate Millett in her book Flying (1974), where she writes, “Right on, Vita, so you must have waged your woman’s war for years.” Emblematic of lively affirmation, the phrase became widely used in the 1950s and 1960s.
Synonyms 🗣️
- Spot on
- Bang on
- On the money
- Bullseye
- Right on cue
Antonyms ❌
- Way off
- Missing the mark
- Off target
Humor-Filled Quotes 📜
- “Right on! The only phrase that can possibly make a bingo game seem like a motivational seminar.”
- “Say ‘right on’ and everyone’s spirits lift, mostly because they no longer have to hear about you being ‘way off.’”
Related Literature 📚
- Flying by Kate Millett
- On the Road by Jack Kerouac (epitomizing the 1960s’ spirit)
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Movies 🎬
- To Sir, with Love (1967)
- Forrest Gump (1994, with its use of “right on” for folksy encouragement)
Songs 🎵
- “Right on” by Marvin Gaye
- “Right Back Where We Started From” by Maxine Nightingale
Proverbial Ponderings 💡
- “Strike while the iron is hot.”
- “Fortune favors the bold.”
- “In for a penny, in for a pound.”
Quiz Time! 🎉
Keep going; you’re on the right track in plunging into the captivating kaleidoscope of language and clichés. Keep exploring, learning, and likewise sharing that ever-mystifying allure of words. 🌍✨
With words aplenty, Lexie Logos
