"We've reached the crest of the pass, boys, its all downhill from here"
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 Englishbe (all) downhill
idiomto 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.
Easiness and simplicity
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Deteriorating and making worse
Want to learn more?
Improve your vocabulary with English Vocabulary in Use from Cambridge.
Learn the words you need to communicate with confidence.
Translations of be (all) downhill
in Chinese (Traditional)
容易多了,好辦多了…
See more
in Chinese (Simplified)
容易多了,好办多了…
See more
Need a translator?
Get a quick, free translation!
Translator tool
Browse
BDSM
be
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