go with the flow

Slang definitions & phrases for go with the flow

go with the flow

verb phrase

To consign oneself to the order and pace of things; be passive: They pondered a while and decided to go with the flow and they all went back to sleep/ Really, I'm just trying to go with the flow

[1960s+ Counterculture; probably a reference to Taoism]

Idioms and Phrases with go with the flow

go with the flow

Also, go with the tide. Move along with the prevailing forces, accept the prevailing trend, as in Rather than striking out in new directions, I tend to go with the flow, or Pat isn't particularly original; she just goes with the tide. The flow in the first and more colloquial term, which dates from the late 1900s, alludes to the ebb and flow of tides and probably gained currency because of its appealing rhyme.