go with the flow

go with the flow

To nonchalantly engage in a situation without trying to change it or assert control over it. We always do things your way—can't you just go with the flow for once? I try not to plan too much when I take a vacation to a new place. I like to just go with the flow when I get there.
See also: flow, go
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

go with the flow

 and go with it
Inf. to cope with adversity; to accept one's lot. No, just relax and go with the flow. Go with it. Don't fight it.
See also: flow, go
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

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.
See also: flow, go
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

go with the flow

COMMON If you go with the flow, you let things happen to you or do what other people want, rather than trying to control what happens yourself. This year I'm going to leave my troubles and tension in the departure lounge and go with the flow. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow of creativity.
See also: flow, go
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

go with the flow

be relaxed; accept a situation. informal
The image here is of going with the current of a stream rather than trying to swim against it.
1997 J-17 Go with the flow today. You can't change the way things are going to pan out, so just let it all happen.
See also: flow, go
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

go with the ˈflow

(informal) be relaxed and not worry about what you should do: He’s very stubborn so there’s really no point in trying to change his mind. It’s best to just go with the flow.• ebb → the ebb and flow (of somebody/something)
See also: flow, go
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

go with the flow

and go with it
in. to cope with adversity; to accept one’s lot. No, just relax and go with the flow.
See also: flow, go
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

go with the flow

Go along with the crowd, be amenable to what others are doing. The “flow” in this late twentieth-century colloquialism alludes to the ebb and flow of tides. The phrase, which undoubtedly owes its popularity to the rhyme, describes a laid-back demeanor, as in “I don’t care which restaurant they pick; I’ll just go with the flow.”
See also: flow, go
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • battle
  • battle with (someone or something)
  • play around
  • exercise power over
  • exercise power over (someone or something)
  • flow with the breeze
  • stake a claim
  • stake a claim to
  • stake out a claim on (something)
  • stake out a claim to
References in periodicals archive
Why should we "Go with the Flow" and when should we NOT "Go with the Flow?" Sounds like a play on words, doesn't it?
Go with the flow
They know how and when to go with the flow, and are keenly concerned about the well-being of the group.
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In town you can put the ear in drive and casually go with the flow. But the brute inside is just waiting.
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We just "go with the flow." Have you wondered how to tap into that more consistently?
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Fortunately I'm somebody who can go with the flow. Assistants who had more experience than I had in working with people with disabilities would say, "You shouldn't do this and you shouldn't do that." I discovered I could do nothing by myself.
Humanity professor
Go with the Flow is an organically inspired new carpet collection from Milliken with designed-in flexibility to work around the contours of any space with comfort and ease.
Specifier's information
In fact when it comes to a philosophy on life Lewis Jones says it is simply to go with the flow.
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The key to his success, Magee says, has been that he is "not afraid of change and [is] able to go with the flow."
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The country taught me what to do, how to make do, how to do without, how to re-do, how to go with the flow and the seasons.
After 45 years, she knows she made the right decision
THE WATER BEARER: You're fluid, you go with the flow, and, yes, like Sambora and Co.
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Then you go with the flow of gravity, drifting down to a designated spot where you want to initiate your next turn.
Mogul mania: at a radical ski school in Aspen, a former Apple exec trains corporate types for the toughest slopes
Part of my approach as an artist is to go with the flow: You begin something, and then, if you get stuck, you pull in information to increase the momentum.
Chris Ofili
Thank you so much for your coverage of "Go With the Flow: Which Alternative Menstrual Products are Best?" in the Winter 2004 issue, I loved the writing style, chart and images--it made very engaging fun and was educational.
Padding on compliments
As she struggles to come to terms with such life-altering circumstances, Virginia realizes that she has been programmed to please others and to go with the flow, and she decides that enough is enough.
The Earth, my butt, and other big round things. (Hardcover Fiction)
HAL: Gotta go with the flow. Get as big a drive as you can afford.
Does Size Really Matter Or Is It Performance That Counts?