touch and go
/ˌtʌtʃ ən ˈɡəʊ/INFORMAL · C2
Meaning
so uncertain that it could easily end badly
Examples
- 1It was touch and go whether we'd catch the last train, but we just made it.
- 2For a while it was touch and go whether the café would survive the winter.
- 3Getting the cake ready in time was touch and go, but it came out of the oven just before the guests arrived.
- 4With two big clients gone, it's touch and go for the company this year.
- 5The plane landed safely in the end, but it was touch and go during the storm.
Grammar
Used after be, often with it: it was touch and go. Before a noun it has hyphens: touch-and-go.
Similar in meaning
More idioms about problems and trouble
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →come to a headto reach the point where something must be donea double-edged swordsomething that has both good and bad effectsin hot waterin trouble and likely to be punished or criticisedthe last strawthe final problem that makes a situation impossible to acceptget to the bottom ofto find out the real cause of something or the truth about itthe tip of the iceberga small visible part of a much larger problem
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
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