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English Expression: A head of steam
Let me give you the literal meaning of a head of steam before we get to the idiomatic meaning of a head of steam.
As you probably know, a steam locomotive (SL) boils water to produce steam, which is then held in an enclosed space.
The pressure builds up until there is enough to make the engine work.
Now for the idiomatic meaning.
If a person or business has a head of steam, it means that they have built up momentum or a driving force and have started to become successful.
When a person starts a new endeavour such as a job, business or research project, they will begin slowly.
As they learn and improve, they gradually build up what is called a driving force or head of steam until finally they are successful and their job, business or research project is running smoothly.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least an
8th-grade education (age 13 – 14).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 67.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.