"Hit the Books" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
0:00 - How to Say, “... hit the books…”
0:34 - Examples of “... hit the books…”
1:16 - Meaning of “... hit the books…”
1:33 - Origin of “... hit the books…”
2:59 - More Examples of “... hit the books…”
3:46 - Conclusion
“... hit the books…”
If someone says that you should “hit the books”, it means that you should study and is often used when a test or exam is coming up.
“Hit the books” is an idiom found chiefly in American, Australian and Canadian English and is quite common to hear if you’re currently a student, teacher or hang out at schools!
“Sorry, I can’t go out this weekend, I have final exams next week and really need to hit the books,” you might tell your friend who is inviting you out for drinks.
Maybe you see your son playing video games when he should be doing his homework, “Stop playing now, you need to hit the books!”
“Before you can start any work, you need to hit the books,” your manager at a new job might say during job training.
As you can see, “hitting the books” simply means studying, learning, reading up on, and can be used in any situation that requires some sort of study.
The origin of “hit the books” lies with the word “hit”, and is simply one of a series of phrases or idioms that starts off with “hit”.
“Hit”, of course, means not only to make physical contact, but also to affect, to make a request of, to suit, to reach or attain, and more.
Some popular “hit” phrases include; hit the road, hit it off, hit it big, hit on, hit the ground running, hit the sack, hit the spot, and others.
Hitting the books is probably the most beneficial of these hit idioms, as reading is what separates above-average people from average people.
All you have to do to become above average is to hit the books more often - but make sure you read educational books and publications! Save the novels for relaxation just before bedtime.
“I hit the books at every opportunity I could get, so I learned pretty quickly,” your friend might be asking how you learned a new language so quickly.
Perhaps you’re going out on a Saturday evening when your mom says, “Don’t forget that you have to hit the books tomorrow. I know about your test on Monday!”
“Hmmm… I don’t quite understand this material’s reaction to an electrical charge, I’m going to have to hit the books,” a materials engineer researching a product might say to a colleague.
So, the next time you have a test or exam coming up and you need to study, or perhaps you lack knowledge or understanding and need to read up on a subject, just say that you’re going to “hit the books”.
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References: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti...