Did You Wonder Where 'Passed With Flying Colors' Came From?

A common phrase in the US is “passed with flying colors”. The phrase has come to mean to do exceptionally well and much better than expected. The phrase has an interesting beginning.

Before going into how the phrase began, it should be explained that the phrase is currently used to denote a noteworthy achievement. For instance, let’s say that in school, little Rickie has been struggling all year in math. So far, they’ve barely been passing. On the final and most important test of the year, Rickie ends up with a nearly perfect test score and the best score in the class, after the teacher has made sure that there was no cheating going on.

If someone asks Rickie’s parents how Rickie did on the test, the parents might proudly proclaim, “Rickie passed with flying colors!”

In other words, the phrase doesn’t mean doing slightly better than expected. It means to far exceed expectations.

The phrase has a nautical origin. Long ago, in the time of sailing ships that carried the goods from one country to another, each ship had several flags that were used as signals to other ships. One flag could identify the ship. Another could identify the nation it came from. Yet another could signal distress, and so on. Even pirate and privateer ships identified themselves with a flag; the Jolly Roger or skull and crossbones flag.

When the vessel saw another vessel or was preparing to enter a port, they would hoist the identification flags. This let the other ship know who they were and where they came from.

The differences in the flags were mostly due to the colors and patterns used on the flags. For instance, US Naval vessels still use the US flag for identification. When the flags were raised, it was referred to as flying the colors.

Thus, when a ship encountered another ship and raised their flags, they would pass (the other ship) with flying colors. The picture of the small US aircraft picture above shows the ship flying their colors.

The transition to the way the phrase is used today is understandable, too. When ships would fly their colors, they usually did so proudly. It is pretty safe to say that little Rickie would have been quite proud of the accomplishment on the test and would be showing the A+ to just about everyone.

Incidentally, in the US, the flag is still often referred to as “the colors”. At sporting events such as national football games, the ‘colors’ are displayed during the playing of the national anthem. This is called the ‘display of the colors’. Properly speaking, whenever the flag is raised up a flagpole, the colors are flown.

Now you know the origin of passing with flying colors. Here is a bit of trivia, though, and I’m wondering if there is anyone who can give the correct answer:

It takes longer to raise the colors to half-mast, such as after the death of an important person, than it does to raise them to full mast at the top of the flagpole. Why?