balloon goes up

English

WOTD – 18 February 2023

Etymology

Probably from the releasing of a balloon as a signal for an event to begin,^[1] possibly popularized by the use of balloons by the British Army during World War I (1914–1918) as a signal for artillery fire to commence.^[2]

Pronunciation

enPR: bə-lo͞on′ gōz ŭp′
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bəˌluːn ɡəʊ̯z ˈʌp/
(General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /bəˌlun ɡoʊ̯z ˈʌp/
(General Australian) IPA^(key): /bəˌlʉːn ɡəʉ̯z ˈɐp/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
(New Zealand) IPA^(key): /bəˌlʉːn ɡɐʉ̯z ˈɐp/
(Scotland) IPA^(key): /bəˌlʉn ɡoz ˈʌp/
(India) IPA^(key): /baˌluːn ɡoːz ˈəp/
Hyphenation: bal‧loon goes up

Phrase

the balloon goes up

(idiomatic) Something exciting, risky, or troublesome begins. [from early 20th c.]
— When is your job interview?
— The balloon goes up at 10 tomorrow.
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:balloon goes up.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see balloon,‎ go,‎ up.

Usage notes

The term is also used with other forms of the word go, such as going and went; see the headword and conjugation table at the lemma go.

Related terms

when the balloon goes up

Translations

something exciting, risky, or troublesome begins

Finnish: h-hetki on
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

References

^ “the balloon goes up, phrase” under “balloon, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2022.
^ Christine Ammer (2013), “balloon goes up, the”, in American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, second edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 29, column 1.

Colin McIntosh, editor (2013), “the balloon goes up, idiom.”, in Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 4th edition, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, retrieved 7 September 2025, reproduced in the Cambridge English Dictionary website, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
“the balloon goes up” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
“the balloon goes up” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2025, retrieved 7 September 2025.

[1] “the balloon goes up, phrase” under “balloon, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2022.

[2] Christine Ammer (2013), “balloon goes up, the”, in American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, second edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 29, column 1.

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