English Help Online's Blog

The idiom for today is to “hit the road”. It is used when we want to say that we are going to leave for some place on foot, by car or by public transportation. For example:

It’s late, so I’d better hit the road now.

If we don’t hit the road soon, we’re going to miss the train.

A: Is your brother still with you?

B: No. He hit the road about an hour ago.

I don’t want you in my apartment anymore, so just hit the road!

It’s more common to use this idiom in casual conversation. We can use it in the imperative, as in the last example, but we more commonly hear that in movies and on TV shows. Sometimes we can hear it in songs too such as in the famous Ray Charles song, “Hit the Road, Jack”.

As I mentioned, we use this expression when leaving for a place on foot, by car or by public transportation, but we can’t use it when leaving on a ship or plane because there is no road involved.