on the rails | Idiomator

Meaning: (idiomatic)Inworking order,functioningproperly.2000, Paul Clarke,Learning Schools, Learning Systems,→ISBN, page vii:ToThe wineplace.comand Chris, Marshy and Chris for keeping meon the rails.2001, Frederick Ferre,Living and Value: Toward a Constructive Postmodern Ethics,→ISBN, page 4:Logic is nothing other than methods we have learned that keep thinkingon the rails.2012, Peter Pedersen,ANZACS on the Western Front,→ISBN:Menin Road got the offensive backon the railsbut conditions, which had been deplorable before, favoured the outcome.; In atrainor on trains.2005, Dan Gerber,A Voice from the River: A Novel,→ISBN, page14:For several Saturdays after he'd seen a film about men who livedon the rails, he left home with a Spam sandwich in a paper bag, a compass and a ball of twine (though he wasn't sure why he included the twine).2012, Meynardie Blanchard,Rails Trails and Other Tales,→ISBN, page31:And then over two months of hitch-hiking' and trekking in Banff and Jasper National Parks, and a few hundred mileson the rails.2014, Jeri Quinzio,Food on the Rails: The Golden Era of Railroad Dining,→ISBN, page12:Nevertheless, he loved travelingon the railsand became a lifelong railroad buff.; (horse racing)Racing toward theinside, near thefencethat bounds thetrack.; Used other than figuratively or idiomatically:seeon,‎rail.1830, Thomas Earle,A Treatise on Railroads and Internal Communications, etc, page54:The larger the wheels, the less will any dust, twigs, or inequalitieson the railsaffect them.2013, Reg Twigg,Survivor on the River Kwai,→ISBN:Now we lounged on the decks all the time, feet upon the railswhile a string band played for us.

Examples:

EN: And need putting back on the rails Off to a garrison town He sends them for a season
ES: ♪ Y necesita ponerles las pilas ♪
EN: Before the express comes, nod off on the rails.
ES: Antes de que llegue el expreso, échese en los raíles.
EN: Yes, out of town, on the rails.
ES: - Si lo explica.
EN: Well, we're still on the rails, ain't we?
ES: Aún estamos sobre las vías, ¿no?
EN: No, but there sure is one coming. I can feel it on the rails.
ES: No, pero viene uno seguro.
EN: Come on, clear the platform or else settle down for a night on the rails.
ES: Vamos, despejen o tendremos que quedarnos aquí.
EN: They've got a hard ride ahead of them, and those drawn away on the far side will have to make a really quick getaway if they're to reach any kind of position on the rails.
ES: Les espera una carrera difícil. Aquellos apartados en el otro lado tendrán que salir rápido si quieren conseguir una buena posición.
EN: I stare out with my eyes fixed on the rails.
ES: Yo miro los railes con la mirada fija.
EN: I was a boy back in Arkansas listening to the train on the rails.
ES: Me vi a mí mismo de niño en Arkansas, escuché el tren en las vías. De repente, el ruido se hizo más fuerte,
EN: You put your head on the rails, over there.
ES: Pones la cabeza en los raíles, por ahí.
EN: Let's play chicken on the rails.
ES: Juguemos a ser un gallina en las vías.
EN: Cesarino got on the rails, so the train wouldn't leave.
ES: Cesare sobre los rieles para que el tren no salga.
EN: To get up these steep Himalayan slopes, they continually have to pour sand on the rails like that.
ES: Para subir estas empinadas laderas del Himalaya, continuamente tienen que verter arena en los rieles, de esa forma.
EN: We're lucky he didn't run us out of town on the rails.
ES: Somos afortunados si corremos fuera de la ciudad.
EN: ♪♪ Uh both feet on the rails ♪♪
ES: Los dos pies en la barra

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