THE SWING OF THINGS

This is the title of a song by Norwegian band A-ha (1986, from the album “Scoundrel Days”), but what does it mean?

 The expression dates from the 1800s and means to become active or make progress [1].

 e.g. “It appears the Duchess of Sussex is now fully into the swing of things in her royal working life, recently attending a poignant service at Westminster Abbey to mark the Centenary of the Royal Air Force.”

We also talk about getting “back into the swing of things” after a break from our usual routine.

 e.g. “There is often this loss of professional self-confidence, so it just takes you a while to get back into the swing of things.”

The origin of this phrase is unclear.

[1] “get into the swing of things.” in The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, by Christine Ammer. 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2013.