touch and go

¹

noun

1. a precarious or delicate state of affairs.

   It was touch and go there for a while during the operation.

2. quick action or movement.

   the touch and go of city traffic.

touch-and-go

²

[tuhch-uhn-goh]

adjective

1. risky; precarious.

   a touch-and-go descent down the mountain.

2. hasty, sketchy, or desultory.

touch and go

adjective

1. (touch-and-go when prenominal) risky or critical

   a touch-and-go situation

touch and go

1. Uncertain or precarious: “The doctors told the patient that, even though her disease was in remission, from now on it was touch and go.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of touch and go¹

First recorded in 1645–55

Origin of touch and go²

First recorded in 1805–15

Idioms and Phrases

Extremely uncertain or risky, as in It was touch and go after the surgery; we were not sure he'd survive it, or It was touch and go but they finally gave me a seat on the plane. This idiom implies that a mere touch may cause a calamity. [Early 1800s]

Example Sentences

But the appropriators have continued their work through this period… So it’s a touch and go day-by-day analysis that we have here as a leadership team.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

When the band started, it was as inspired by Modest Mouse as it was iconic Chicago hardcore label Touch and Go Records, the singer said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

An extract, published in the Times on Thursday, revealed that the late star got sepsis at the start of this year, and it "was really was touch and go" at one stage.

Read more on BBC

“It was touch and go for a while!”

Read more on Salon

By Monday night, those familiar with the whipping spreadsheet were warning that the situation was "touch and go".

Read more on BBC