under starter's orders 待发起跑令

在体育比赛里经常会听到 to be under starter's orders 这个短语，意思是待发起跑令。

例句

The athletes have been waiting for this moment for years. They're under starter's orders. And they're off!

It was only a second or two but the runners seemed to be under starter's orders for hours before the pistol was fired.

请注意

Under arms 意思是出于备战状态中，随时准备作战。

Example: The rebels were under arms and an attack was just a matter of time.