wheels up
adj.— «But the minute the last leader’s white-topped helicopter took off at the crack of dawn Friday—went “wheels up,” in the parlance of law enforcement officers—coastal Georgians rushed to resume normal summertime activities, such as basking on the beach instead of in the international spotlight.» —“The coast is clear; back to tourism” by Jingle Davis, Marlon Manuel in Savannah Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Ga.) June 12, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
National Book Award winner Barry Lopez had wise advice for young writers. First, read widely and follow your curiosity. Second, travel or learn a foreign language. And third, find out what you truly believe, because if you’re not writing from...
A listener named Tami contacted the show by WhatsApp to say that whenever someone would be talking about a subject that nobody else knew anything about, her father-in-law would respond with I had one of those, but the wheels came off. This is part...