on course

From on + course.

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

on course

1. (idiomatic) Following the intended route.
2. (idiomatic) Proceeding smoothly as planned.
   • 2011 October 23, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1 - 6 Man City”, in BBC Sport‎:

     United were reduced to 10 men when Jonny Evans was sent off early in the second half but City's superiority was such that they looked on course for a landmark victory from the moment they took the lead.

3. (idiomatic) Likely to happen or to undergo something.
   • 2020 April 12, Simon Tisdall, “US's global reputation hits rock-bottom over Trump's coronavirus response”, in The Guardian‎:

     That’s a title the US appears on course to lose – a fall from grace that may prove irreversible. The domestic debacle unleashed by the pandemic, and global perceptions of American selfishness and incompetence, could change everything.

• corneous