to do or have something that is successful.

This director has a good thing going with one film nominated for an Oscar and two others earning him a lot of money.

Usage notes: also used in the forms the better thing going or the best thing going:

If you have to commute to the city, the train is the best thing going.

Related vocabulary: on a roll

• not be the full quid
• not be the marrying kind
• not be the only pebble on the beach
• not be up to much
• not be up to scratch
• not be worth a dime
• not be worth a fig
• not be worth a hill of beans
• not be worth the paper it's printed on
• not be worth the paper it's written on
• not be worth the paper they're printed on
• not be worth the paper they're written on
• not be your bag
• not be your brother's keeper
• not break the bank
• not breathe a word
• not budge an inch
• not by a long shot
• not by any stretch
• not by any stretch of the imagination
• not care a fig
• not care a hoot
• not care a toss
• not care tuppence
• notch below