hit the high spots, to

hit the high spots

1. To cover or emphasize the most significant or vital aspects of something. We don't have a lot of time, so just hit the high spots from his speech.

2. To visit the most interesting or exciting places in a particular city or town. This summer, we're visiting Chicago for the first time, and we're going to hit all the high spots.

See also: high, hit, spot

hit the high spots

Fig. to do only the important, obvious, or good things. I won't discuss the entire report. I'll just hit the high spots. First, let me hit the high spots; then I'll tell you the details.

See also: high, hit, spot

hit the high spots

Also, hit the high points. Pay attention only to the most important places or parts. For example, We only had a week in New York, but we managed to hit the high spots, or His speech was brief, but he hit all the high points. This idiom alludes to running a dustcloth or paintbrush over an uneven surface and touching only the raised portions. [c. 1900]

See also: high, hit, spot

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.

hit the high spots

AMERICAN, INFORMAL

If you hit the high spots, you give attention only to the most important parts of something. The history of English is long and complicated, and we can only hit the high spots.

See also: high, hit, spot

hit the high spots

visit places of entertainment. informal

See also: high, hit, spot

hit the high spots, to

To do something superficially. Presumably this expression comes from sloppy cleaning or polishing, that is, attending to the raised surfaces and ignoring the rest. Used since about 1900, it is applied to any kind of haphazard performance.