smooth sailing

idiomatic phrase

: easy progress without impediment or difficulty
After the mix-up was rectified, it was smooth sailing again.Mike Brown
He just kept talking and talking his nonstop sunny talk about what a great summer we were going to have and that he had tons of plans and that we would get caught up as father and son and soon all our rough past would be behind us and we would have nothing but smooth sailing for our future.Jack Ganto

Examples of smooth sailing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This vacation is going to be smooth sailing from here on out with these two! Kendall Malinchock, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025 After a game where everything wasn’t smooth sailing – Chicago had plenty of pre-snap penalties and Williams’ two fumbles came on botched snaps with the center – the young quarterback says these experiences are important if the team are going to continue improving. Ben Morse, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2025 The trip won’t be smooth sailing, though. Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025 But their reveal and beginning of their trip in Mexico seemed to be smooth sailing for these two. Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for smooth sailing

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of smooth sailing was in 1824

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Cite this Entry

“Smooth sailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smooth%20sailing. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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