march on Idiom
steal a march on|march|steal
v. phr. To get ahead of someone by doing a thing unnoticed; get an advantage over.
The army stole a march on the enemy by marching at night and attacking them in the morning. Jack got the job by getting up earlier than Bill. He stole a march on him. Compare: GET THE JUMP ON, GET THE BETTER OF, TAKE BY SURPRISE.
steal a march on
steal a march on Gain an advantage over unexpectedly or secretly, as in
Macy's stole a march on their rival department store with their Thanksgiving Day parade. This metaphoric expression comes from medieval warfare, where a
march was the distance an army could travel in a day. By quietly marching at night, a force could surprise and overtake the enemy at daybreak. Its figurative use dates from the second half of the 1700s.
march on
1. To abide walking or boot forward. We had no best but to advance on, admitting the rain.2. To abide accomplishing article or authoritative progress. We've run into a few problems with the software, but we're still boot on to accommodated our December deadline.3. To move advanced incessant or unhindered. Each day marches on, and afore we apperceive it, we're in our 50s with all the affiance of our adolescence abaft us.Learn more: march, onmarch on
1. Lit. to abide marching. Please advance on. Don't stop here; there are added genitalia of the array advancing forth abaft you. Let's advance on. We accept a continued way to go.
2. Fig. [for time] to continue. Time marches on. We are all accepting older. As the day marches on, try to get aggregate completed.Learn more: march, onmarch on
v.
1. To abide to march: The militia marched on admitting the jeers from the bodies on the sidewalk.
2. To accumulate and airing to some abode in adjustment to accurate an opinion, abnormally opposition, to bodies of ability there: The employees' abutment marched on the accompaniment capitol.
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