Its all downhill from here positive or negative

Q: Is all downhill from here a good thing?

If someone tells you theyve wrapped up the hard part of a project, and now its all downhill, thats a good thing. It means that things are getting easier. However, if someone tells you that a particular business has gone downhill since a new owner took over, thats not a good thing.

Q: Is it all downhill from here or uphill?

Its all uphill from here” is not considered positive. It means working harder to a achieve a goal, not easier. Its all downhill from here” means its going to get easier. On the other hand, going downhill” has different connotations.

"We've reached the crest of the pass, boys, its all downhill from here"

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be (all) downhill
Translations of be (all) downhill
Is downhill positive or negative?
What does it mean when you say it's all downhill from here?
Is all downhill from here a good thing?
Is it all downhill from here or uphill?

Rusty, the usage of the word downhill in that particular sentence seems pretty literal, not figurative. The speaker is describing the downhill nature of the slope, (or the down slope of the hill!) more like an adverb. Doesnt sound like a metaphor, does it?
Still thinking abt the phenomenon though!

When it’s “all downhill from here,” there’s some ambiguity about whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

A friend of Professor Anne Curzan recently pointed out that the issue with this expression is that it’s almost an auto antonym. That is, a word or expression that can mean its opposite.

If someone tells you they’ve wrapped up the hard part of a project, and now it’s all downhill, that’s a good thing. It means that things are getting easier.

However, if someone tells you that a particular business has gone downhill since a new owner took over, that’s not a good thing. It means things at the business have only gotten worse.

Again, neither of these cases are perfect auto antonyms, because even though we certainly think of one as good and the other bad, “getting easier” and “getting worse” aren’t exactly antonyms.

One thing that we considered is whether there could be a distinction between “it’s all downhill from here” as always something good vs. “things are going downhill” as always something bad. Unfortunately, it’s not that clear-cut.

Here’s an example from a book review in the Christian Science Monitor: “The best line of the book comes early. Unfortunately, it’s all downhill from there.” In other words, the book only gets worse.

Compare that to this example from an article about running in Today’s Parent: “Ease into your routine with short runs. Warm up by walking the first five minutes then jog slowly. From there, it’s all downhill.” This time, things get easier.

Fortunately, context usually makes the meaning clear, as in the above examples. However, that’s not to say we can’t come with more ambiguous examples.

A fair question to ask is whether this ambiguity is a problem. Probably not. Most of the time, context makes it completely clear whether someone means things are getting easier or worse.

Meaning of be (all) downhill in English

be (all) downhill

idiom

to be much easier:

Once we get the preparation done, it'll be downhill all the way.

If I can just get through the training period, it'll be all downhill from here.

to get worse; to be less successful:

The job went well at first, but then I got sick and it's been downhill ever since.

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

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(Definition of be (all) downhill from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Translations of be (all) downhill

in Chinese (Traditional)

容易多了，好辦多了…

in Chinese (Simplified)

容易多了，好办多了…

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BDSM

be (a) no go idiom

be (a) party to something idiom

be (all) downhill idiom

be (all) over bar the shouting idiom

be (all) part of life's rich tapestry/pageant idiom

be (all) sweetness and light idiom

be (all) the rage idiom

Is downhill positive or negative?

When dealing with slope, a positive slope simply means uphill and a negative slope means downhill. A negative number does not mean “minus” as in algebraic expressions.

What does it mean when you say it's all downhill from here?

to get worse; to be less successful: The job went well at first, but then I got sick and it's been downhill ever since.

Is all downhill from here a good thing?

If someone tells you they've wrapped up the hard part of a project, and now it's all downhill, that's a good thing. It means that things are getting easier. However, if someone tells you that a particular business has gone downhill since a new owner took over, that's not a good thing.

Is it all downhill from here or uphill?

“It's all uphill from here” is not considered positive. It means working harder to a achieve a goal, not easier. “It's all downhill from here” means it's going to get easier. On the other hand, “going downhill” has different connotations.