clear sailing vs progression

clear sailing and progression both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
clear sailing	Yes	No	No	No
progression	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, progression is a hypernym of clear sailing; that is, progression is a word with a broader meaning than clear sailing:

Other hypernyms of clear sailing include advance, advancement, forward motion, onward motion, procession, progress.

clear sailing (noun)	progression (noun)
easy unobstructed progress	the act of moving forward (as toward a goal)
	a movement forward
	a series with a definite pattern of advance