hop, skip, and a jump

Meaning

A hop, skip, and a jump is a playful idiom used to describe a very short distance or a quick, easy journey from one place to another. It is casual and lighthearted, often used when explaining how close a hotel, beach, or landmark is to another location. It originates from the athletic triple jump event but is used purely figuratively.

Examples

• Our hotel was just a hop, skip, and a jump from the beach, which was incredibly convenient.

  Our hotel was just a hop, skip, and a jump from the beach, which was incredibly convenient.

• The train station is only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the city center.

  The train station is only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the city center.

• Don't worry about the commute; my office is a hop, skip, and a jump from my apartment.

  Don't worry about the commute; my office is a hop, skip, and a jump from my apartment.

• From Paris, Brussels is just a hop, skip, and a jump on the high-speed train.

  From Paris, Brussels is just a hop, skip, and a jump on the high-speed train.

• The local market is a hop, skip, and a jump down the road, so we can walk there.

  The local market is a hop, skip, and a jump down the road, so we can walk there.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ The beach is just a jump, hop, and skip from here.

  ✓ The beach is just a hop, skip, and a jump from here.

  Idioms have a fixed word order. You cannot rearrange the order of 'hop, skip, and a jump'.

• ✗ It's only a hop, skip, and jump to the station.

  ✓ It's only a hop, skip, and a jump to the station.

  Do not omit the article 'a' before 'jump'. The correct phrasing is 'a hop, skip, and a jump'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The museum is just a ___ from our hostel, so we don't need a taxi.

  💡 A playful idiom meaning a very short distance.

  Show answer

  hop, skip, and a jump

• From here, the border is only a ___.

  💡 An idiom describing a very quick and short trip.

  Show answer

  hop, skip, and a jump