hop, skip, and (a) jump
1. A short distance away from a certain location. My apartment's location is so convenient. It's just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the train station and the grocery store. I'm just going to run through the rain because the library is only a hop, skip, and jump from here. Don't worry, the gas station is just a hop, skip, and a jump from here.
2. Very similar (to something else). I thought you could handle this project because it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from the one you're working on now. The book is a hop, skip, and jump away from being outright military propaganda. Of course the husband did it! His damning comments are just a hop, skip, and a jump from a full confession!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
a hop, skip, and a jump
Fig. a short distance. Bill lives just a hop, skip, and a jump from here. We can be there in two minutes. My car is parked just a hop, skip, and a jump away.
skip (out)
Inf. to leave; to run away without doing something, such as paying a bill. The guy skipped when the waitress wasn't looking. Fred skipped out, leaving me with the bill.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
hop, skip, and a jump
A short distance, as in It's just a hop, skip, and a jump from my house to yours. This expression, dating from the early 1700s, originally referred to an exercise or game involving these movements, but by the mid-1800s was also being used figuratively for the short distance so covered.
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.
a hop, skip, and a jump
or a hop and a skip
1. If someone or something is a hop, skip, and a jump or a hop and a skip away from someone or something else, they are very close. Wells is just a hop and skip from George Bush's place in Kennebunkport.
2. If something is a hop, skip, and a jump or a hop and a skip from something else, the two things are very similar. Of course, the Romanian language is just a hop, skip and a jump from Italian.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
skip
verbMcGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
hop, skip, and (a) jump
A short distance.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.