Blaze a trail

To blaze a trail is to be a pioneer or the first to do something and set an example or standard for others to follow. The expression dates in this figurative sense from the late 19th century. In its literal sense of marking trees with fresh, whitish notches or blazes so that pioneers could blaze a trail for others to follow dates from the late 18th century in America. The word blaze itself derives from the Old Norse meaning the white mark on a horse’s face.