With flying colours means with great success, easily and with top marks. Most often it's about an exam, an inspection or a test passed with a high score: pass with flying colours. This is the British spelling; American English writes with flying colors. The expression suits Speaking, but in an essay passed easily or achieved excellent results is more neutral.
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pass + exam/test/inspection + with flying colours; come through (+ noun) with flying colours
- Mark passed his final exams with flying colours and got into his first-choice university.
- The new café passed its hygiene inspection with flying colours.
- Our app came through every security test with flying colours.
What changed
First versionShe passed her history exam on excellent.
RevisionShe passed her history exam with flying colours.
English doesn't describe an exam result as on excellent: neither the preposition nor the grade word works like that. To say that you did brilliantly, use with flying colours. Only on excellent was replaced.
Flying colours is only for a confident success with room to spare. If an exam was only just passed, say scrape through: I just scraped through the maths exam. And passed on its own says nothing about how well it went.
Your turn
Lena got the highest score in her group, and the examiners praised her speaking. She passed ___.
Show the answer
with flying colours — The best score in the group and praise from the examiners mean a brilliant success: with flying colours. By the skin of her teeth means “only just, by a lucky escape”, but for Lena everything went easily.
Think of an exam, interview or inspection that you or someone you know passed with great success. Write what it was and what made it go so well.
My brother passed his driving test with flying colours because he had practised on busy roads every weekend.
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