hitch a ride
1. To hitchhike. (Done by putting one's hitch in the air in order to signal passing cars that one is looking for a ride.) I spent the summer hitching rides along the west coast. We didn't have any money for a taxi, so we had to hitch a ride home. We can't hitch a ride! Are you trying to get us home or get us killed?
2. To be driven to a location in someone else's car. A: "Do you need me to drive you to the movie?" B: "No, I'm hitching a ride with Janet." No, I don't have to take the bus to school anymore. Now that my neighbor has her license, I can just hitch a ride with her. Normally, yeah, you could hitch a ride with me, but I'm not going to dance class tonight.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
hitch a ride
Also, thumb a ride. Solicit a free ride, especially by hitchhiking. For example, I've no car; can I hitch a ride home with you? or He was hoping to thumb a ride to the stadium. The verb hitch here alludes to walking unevenly, presumably to hop into a car or truck; raising one's thumb is the traditional signal for stopping a car on the road. [First half of 1900s]
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.