ahead of the curve

[MW]

meaning?

[SunnyDay]

To be ahead of the curve means you've anticipated the market or are ahead of everyone else, be it fashion or the stock market. It's not used for anticipating events.

"He's got his Doctor's degree in International Business."
"Yeah, he's ahead of the curve."

I've mostly seen it used for business. There's a whole lot of books out there titled "Staying Ahead of the Curve."

[Ouisch]

If you plot normal probability distribution on a graph, the shape looks similar to a bell. This is usually referred to as the Bell Curve. If someone is ahead of the curve, they're beating the odds or staying ahead of the game.