balloon goes up, the

The undertaking begins, as in He's going to announce his candidacy for mayor-the balloon goes up on Monday. This expression comes from World War I, when British artillery sent up a balloon to notify gunners to open fire, this visual signal being more reliable than courier or telephone. It was soon transferred to signal other kinds of beginning. [1915]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Nell	[nel]
Kemp	KEMP	English (Rare)
Vratislav	-	Czech, Slovak, Medieval Slavic
Manley	['mænli:]
LÁRa	LOW-rah	Icelandic
Cherry	CHER-ee	English