fast track
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Puzzle #269 · February 25, 2026
Fast track is the accelerated path to success—but the term started in horse racing. Around 1934, a ‘fast track’ was a dry, hard racetrack that allowed maximum speed, unlike muddy or grassy surfaces that slowed horses down.
The metaphor made sense: find the fast track and you win. By the 1960s, the term went figurative. ‘Fast-tracking’ became business jargon for expedited projects, rapid promotions, accelerated development. The verb version hit in 1971.
Now it's ubiquitous corporate language: fast-track your career, fast-track the approval process. The original racing advantage got abstracted into a universal concept for doing anything quicker. See more at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fast-track
The metaphor made sense: find the fast track and you win. By the 1960s, the term went figurative. ‘Fast-tracking’ became business jargon for expedited projects, rapid promotions, accelerated development. The verb version hit in 1971.
Now it's ubiquitous corporate language: fast-track your career, fast-track the approval process. The original racing advantage got abstracted into a universal concept for doing anything quicker. See more at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fast-track
Puzzle Appearances
The expression fast track has appeared in 1 puzzle:
- Puzzle #269 on February 25, 2026
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print
Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.
Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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