Whiteisms
The Archive

Etymology Journal ยท A

A hop, skip, and a jump

Meaning

This means a very short distance. It is used to suggest that a location is extremely close and easy to get to.

Encouraging, casual

Used in a sentence

  • The grocery store is just a hop, skip, and a jump from our house.
  • It is a hop, skip, and a jump to the beach from this hotel.
  • We are almost there, it is just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

The backstory

The phrase comes from the track-and-field event known as the hop, step, and jump. It implies that the distance is so short you could cover it with a few small movements.

Heard in

Nationwide

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