Q.

You did it! You passed or even beat expectations on a test or a set challenge. You ‘made the grade.’  Where does that idiom originate?

A.
‘Making the grade’ is said to be rooted in the 19^th Century world of trains. Could a heavily loaded train make it up a steep hill? A hill with a rather ominous looking gradient? Yes? It made the grade.

And while we’re at it, the expression ‘getting sidetracked’ – i.e. getting distracted from what you’re supposed to do – comes also from the world of trains. If a train pulls off the main track onto a shorter secondary or branchline it is ‘sidetracked.’

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Header Art: Beatriz Camaleão