This mini episode teaches you the useful expression “hit or miss.”
Episode 170 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the useful expression “hit or miss.” What does it mean, and how can you use it? Send your questions about English and your suggestions for future episodes to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
The expression I want to teach you today is “hit or miss.” Hit or miss. That's three words—hit: h-i-t. Or: o-r. And miss: m-i-s-s. Hit or miss. What does hit or miss mean, and how can you use this in a sentence?
“Hit or miss” means inconsistent. It means sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.
Let me give you a couple of examples, and I think you will understand “hit or miss” right away.
Let's say my friend asks me about a certain actor. My friend wants to know what I think about this actor. And I say, “I like that actor, but I think his movies are hit or miss.” I like him, but I think his movies are hit or miss. What do I mean when I say that his movies are hit or miss? What I mean is that some of his movies work—some of his movies are good—and some of his movies do not work. Some of them don't seem successful to me. I don't like some of them. “His movies are hit or miss” means his movies (at least in my opinion) are not consistent. Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're bad.
Or let's say a friend asks me about a certain restaurant in the neighborhood. My friend says, “Oh—you’ve been there before. What do you think of that restaurant?” And I say, “I think that restaurant is hit or miss.” What do I mean when I say that? What I mean is sometimes the restaurant seems good and sometimes it doesn't seem good. Some of the things that I order at this restaurant are very good. I love them. But some of the things that I have ordered at this restaurant are not very good. I don’t like them. So I could say that that restaurant is hit or miss. In other words, sometimes it's good, and sometimes it is not good.
I think a good way to think about this expression is to think of something hitting a target. Think of somebody aiming an arrow at a target at the other end of the field. If their skills are hit or miss, that means sometimes they will hit the target with the arrow—they will have good aim, they can hit what they're trying to hit—but sometimes they will miss the target. Sometimes they don't have good aim. Sometimes it doesn't go the way they want it to. It’s hit or miss.
Well, that is the expression “hit or miss.” And I think it is a good, useful expression that you should know.