now you're cooking

phrase

Used to praise someone for adopting a more effective or suitable method or approach, or to signal that progress is being made.

“Alice: "Now you're cooking!"”

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Meanings

phrase
  1. idiomaticUsed to praise someone for adopting a more effective or suitable method or approach, or to signal that progress is being made.

    Alice: "Now you're cooking!"

    2 more examples

    Alice: "Why are you still using that old software? You should try out the new version."

    Bob: "Hey, this is really nice; much better than that crusty stuff we were using before."

Origin

Derives from a version of the advertising slogan Now you're cooking with gas!, that entered the popular lexicon in the 1930s. See also cooking with gas.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

now you're cooking. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/now%20you're%20cooking

MLA

“now you're cooking.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/now%20you're%20cooking. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “now you're cooking,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/now%20you're%20cooking.

Source: now you're cooking on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.