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Reader question: Please explain “ahead of the curve” in this sentence: He is progressing and he is way ahead of the curve for his age group. My comments: Ahead or above the curve means better than average. Curve? What curve? You wonder. A curve is a bending line, in the shape of a few arc linked together, i.e. with contours. In other words, not a straight line. The curved line is seen in any statistical graph people draw in order to demonstrate, say, the rate of economic growths year on year. On the vertical axis of the graph is marked the growth rate while on the horizontal axis the years are marked. In between one sees a curved line showing the ups and downs of the economy. There won’t be a curved line, of course, if economic growth has been exactly even year on year – in that case, the line will be straight. However, as is always the case, bigger growths are always achieved in some years than others – fat years and lean years, you know, bigger crops, people buying more or government simply prints more money. The long an short of it is, the curve in the graph demonstrates how fast or slow the economy has been going in different years. In some places the curve appears to be sharp, or steep, and that means during those years the economy grows rapidly. On the other hand, if the curve appears flat it means that growth is slow. The economy is stagnant, as it is now in much of the developed world. | 
