get on meanings
"There was one ( teacher) in particular who must have been getting on because he'd seemed pretty ancient when I was there."

I understood that get on meant that the teacher was still working there, but as it says ancient , I think it is not the correct meaning. So, what does it mean, the opposite?

Question

get on  meanings
"There was one ( teacher) in particular who must have been getting on because he'd seemed pretty ancient when I was there."

I understood that get on meant that the teacher was still working there, but as it says ancient , I think it is not the correct meaning. So, what does it mean, the opposite?

Answer

Phrasal verbs can change meaning if there are other elements in the sentence.

"The teacher was getting on." = aging.

"The teacher was getting on with the new student teachers." = being friendly with someone.

"The teacher was getting on with work." = focusing one's attention, ignoring other distractions and making progress.

Notice how the extra things in the sentence (other people / work) change the meaning. This happens a lot with phrasal verbs.

Answer

Getting on means getting on in age i.e. he was not young.