touch and go
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touch and go
Extremely uncertain as to the outcome of something. Hyphenated if used before a noun. Our business had a pretty rocky start—it was touch and go for a while there whether we'd even be able to keep going or not. The doctors said it was touch and go at points during surgery, but he is expected to pull through and make a full recovery. It was a touch-and-go match from beginning to end, but fortunately we were able to pull ahead in the last few minutes.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
touch-and-go
very uncertain or critical. Things were touch-and-go at the office until a new manager was hired. Jane had a serious operation, and everything was touch-and-go for two days after her surgery.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
touch and go
Extremely uncertain or risky, as in It was touch and go after the surgery; we were not sure he'd survive it, or It was touch and go but they finally gave me a seat on the plane. This idiom implies that a mere touch may cause a calamity. [Early 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
touch and go
COMMON
1. If it is touch and go whether something will happen, you cannot be certain whether it will happen or not. It was touch and go whether she would really go through with the court case. I thought I was going to win the race, but it was still touch and go.
2. If it is touch and go, you are in a very dangerous situation, where people might die. Nancy nearly lost control of the boat. For a few moments it was touch and go.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
touch and go
(of an outcome, especially one that is desired) possible but very uncertain.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
touch and go
mod. chancy. It was touch and go for a while, but we are out of the woods now.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
touch and go
Risky, precarious. This term, which originated in the early nineteenth century, appears to allude to a vehicle barely escaping collision— for example, a ship rubbing against the bottom with its keel but still able to move, or a cart’s wheel dragging against another without harm. An early figurative use in print occurred in a letter written by Ralph Wardlaw (1815): “’Twas touch and go—but I got my seat.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
touch and go
A risky situation. There are times when a ship's captain or pilot must pick the vessel's way through such a narrow channel that its sides might well scrape against rocks or other potentially destructive hazards. Nevertheless, the captain or pilot had no other choice. That is to say, the ship might touch but it had to go regardless of the risk. Hence, this expression for an uncertain enterprise. A literal application of the phrase is an airplane's touching down on the runway, but then immediately lifting off because a normal landing would be dangerous. Pilots practice the maneuver when learning to fly.
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price