in full swing

in full swing

Well underway and operating at the highest possible level or pace. You need to tell Mom if you're not coming home for Christmas, because her planning is already in full swing. Foot traffic in the outdoor market usually slows down in the fall, but it gets back in full swing by the time the winter holidays roll around.

See also: full, swing

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

*in full swing

 and *in high gear

Fig. at the peak of activity; moving fast or efficiently. (*Typically: be ~; move [into] ~; get [into] ~.) In the summer months, things really get into full swing around here. We go skiing in the mountains each winter. Things are in high gear there in November.

See also: full, swing

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

in full swing

Also, in full cry. In full operation, at the highest level of activity. For example, After the strike it would be some time before production was in full swing, or His supporters were out in full cry. The first expression, dating from the mid-1800s, alludes to the vigorous movement of a swinging body. The second employs full cry in the sense of "vigorous pursuit," a usage dating from the late 1500s that may be dying out.

See also: full, swing

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

in full swing

COMMON If something is in full swing, it is operating fully or has already been happening for some time, rather than being in its early stages. Twelve days after the hurricane, officials say recovery efforts are at last in full swing. While I was in Dieppe, a national dog show and a jazz festival were in full swing. Note: You can also say that something gets into full swing. As we left, the St Patrick's Day celebrations were getting into full swing in Donegall Place.

See also: full, swing

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

in full swing

(of an activity) proceeding vigorously.

See also: full, swing

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

in full ˈswing

at the height of something such as an event, a party, an election, etc.; at the busiest or liveliest time: When we arrived at 10 o’clock, the party was already in full swing. ♢ The tourist season in London is in full swing at the moment.

See also: full, swing

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

in full swing

At the highest level of activity or operation.

See also: full, swing

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

in full swing

Vigorously active. Various etymologists to the contrary, this term comes from a sixteenth-century use of swing for the course of a career or period of time. The only modern vestige of this meaning is in the cliché, which has survived. Indeed, it was already a cliché when George Meredith wrote (Evan Harrington, 1861), “A barrister in full swing of practice.”

See also: full, swing

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer