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

The win wasn't smooth sailing for the Bears, who had to overcome a 14-9 halftime deficit to claim the comeback victory over the home team Raiders. —Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Sep. 2025

But the path from cable television pioneer to hospitality mogul wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. —Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 15 Sep. 2025

Of course, things are rarely smooth sailing in the world of restaurants and hospitality. —Kristin L. Wolfe, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025

The path forward is unlikely to be smooth sailing, as key policy questions remain in the face of persistent concerns about President Trump’s crypto dealings. —Julia Shapero, The Hill, 9 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for smooth sailing

• assailing
• availing
• bewailing
• blackmailing
• curtailing
• derailing
• descaling
• detailing
• dovetailing
• entailing
• exhaling
• impaling