without a hitch
to occur smoothly and without problems
TRANSLATION
without a hitch = reibungslos, problemlos, ohne Einschränkung --- GOOGLE INDEX without a hitch: approximately 6,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
The BBC's Paddy O'Connell looks beyond the sporting hopes and dreams of the competitors and discovers the extraordinary lengths organisers are going to, to ensure the Olympics pass WITHOUT A HITCH.
(BBC News)
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The two companies reached an agreement today to resolve a prolonged dispute and now Apple can continue the sales of their tablets in China WITHOUT A HITCH.
(tmcnet.com)
(BBC News)
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The two companies reached an agreement today to resolve a prolonged dispute and now Apple can continue the sales of their tablets in China WITHOUT A HITCH.
(tmcnet.com)
Did you
know?
without a hitch
noun phrase
- with no problems
(McGraw Hill Dictionaries)
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Hitch is from the Middle English "icchen," to move with a jerk or to stir. It has no cognates in other languages, so it is not clear exactly how it developed. By the 16th and 17th centuries, hitch had assumed various meanings, one of which was the sense of an obstacle or a problem. This stems from the use of hitch to describe a sudden, jerky movement that interrupts a flow. The expression "without a hitch" thus refers to carrying out a task without incurring any problems.
Other uses of hitch, either as a verb or a noun, include:
- a limp or a hobble when walking (He has a hitch in his stride)
- an abrupt movement such as a jerk or a pull (He gave it a hitch until it finally came loose)
- a knot for fastening ropes to posts and other ropes (nautical sense)
- to fasten something, especially with a hook (We can leave as soon the caravan is hitched to the car)
- to marry (They got hitched in July)
- to move or raise by pulling up or jerking (Hitch up your trousers before you lose them!)
- slang for a period time spent in the military or in prison (He had a four-year hitch in the army)
- to get a ride in a vehicle, as in hitchhiking (He hitched a ride to Paris). This well-known American expression became popular in the 1920s and derives from "hitch" as in fastening yourself to a vehicle in a figurative sense, and hiking, which of course refers to walking. In other words, the idea is to hitch a ride while traveling on foot.
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We had a celebration dinner after the project went off without a hitch."
noun phrase
- with no problems
(McGraw Hill Dictionaries)
---
Hitch is from the Middle English "icchen," to move with a jerk or to stir. It has no cognates in other languages, so it is not clear exactly how it developed. By the 16th and 17th centuries, hitch had assumed various meanings, one of which was the sense of an obstacle or a problem. This stems from the use of hitch to describe a sudden, jerky movement that interrupts a flow. The expression "without a hitch" thus refers to carrying out a task without incurring any problems.
Other uses of hitch, either as a verb or a noun, include:
- a limp or a hobble when walking (He has a hitch in his stride)
- an abrupt movement such as a jerk or a pull (He gave it a hitch until it finally came loose)
- a knot for fastening ropes to posts and other ropes (nautical sense)
- to fasten something, especially with a hook (We can leave as soon the caravan is hitched to the car)
- to marry (They got hitched in July)
- to move or raise by pulling up or jerking (Hitch up your trousers before you lose them!)
- slang for a period time spent in the military or in prison (He had a four-year hitch in the army)
- to get a ride in a vehicle, as in hitchhiking (He hitched a ride to Paris). This well-known American expression became popular in the 1920s and derives from "hitch" as in fastening yourself to a vehicle in a figurative sense, and hiking, which of course refers to walking. In other words, the idea is to hitch a ride while traveling on foot.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We had a celebration dinner after the project went off without a hitch."
