phrase
Meteoric Rise
A spectacularly fast ascent โ almost always misused, since real meteors fall.
Origin
The metaphor borrows from the brilliance and speed of a meteor streaking across the sky, ignoring the direction. The phrase appears in English from the 19th century and has resisted pedantic correction ever since.
Modern usage
Standard in sports and entertainment journalism for any rapid ascent. Pedants enjoy pointing out that meteors go down; everyone else uses it anyway.
Tags
ascent
speed
career