What is the origin of the phrase "right on"?
by 
Charles Robitaille
ANSWERS: 1
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Citation from dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=right%20on An exclamation of enthusiasm or encouragement, as in You've said it really wellright on! This interjection has a disputed origin. Some believe it comes from African-American slang (it was recorded in Odum and Johnson's The Negro and His Songs, 1925); others feel it is a shortening of right on target, used by military airmen, or right on cue, theatrical slang for saying the right lines at the right time. [Slang; first half of 1900s] Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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