hitch

get hitched

To get married. Did you hear? Bill and David got hitched last week!
See also: get, hitch

go off without a hitch

To happen without any problems at all; to happen very smoothly, easily, or effortlessly. Used especially after "go off." I was nervous, but the whole plan went off without a hitch. I thought the date went off without a hitch, but he never called me back. Other than a brief delay at the airport, our trip has gone off without a hitch!
See also: go, hitch, off, without

hitch (one's) horses together

obsolete To work or associate together amiably or for mutual benefit. The pronoun between "hitch" and "horses" is not always used. Considering the wealth and experience I could bring to your flourishing little enterprise, it strikes me that we would do well to hitch horses together. It soon became clear that the two coworkers do not hitch their horses together well at all.
See also: hitch, horse, together

hitch (one's) wagon to (someone or something)

To attempt to benefit from something or someone else's success or potential by closely associating with it or them. Be careful about hitching your wagon to the senator—some say his seat is in jeopardy. Joe got lucky by hitching his wagon to that startup before it was bought.
See also: hitch, wagon

hitch (one's) wagon to a star

To pursue grand or lofty goals for oneself, often by partnering with someone or something that is already successful or revered. You can do anything you want, so why not hitch your wagon to a star? When I was trying to become a screenwriter, I hitched my wagon to a star by befriending some popular actresses.
See also: hitch, star, wagon

hitch a lift

1. To hitchhike. (Done by putting one's hitch in the air in order to signal passing cars that one is looking for a ride.) I spent the summer hitching lifts along the west coast. We didn't have any money for a taxi, so we had to hitch a life home.
2. To be driven to a location in someone else's car. A: "Do you need me to drive you to the movie?" B: "No, I'm hitching a lift with Janet."
See also: hitch, lift

hitch a ride

1. To hitchhike. (Done by putting one's hitch in the air in order to signal passing cars that one is looking for a ride.) I spent the summer hitching rides along the west coast. We didn't have any money for a taxi, so we had to hitch a life home.
2. To be driven to a location in someone else's car. A: "Do you need me to drive you to the movie?" B: "No, I'm hitching a ride with Janet."
See also: hitch, ride

hitch up

1. To pull something up, usually an article of clothing. A noun or pronoun can be used between "hitch" and "up." These pants must be too big now because I constantly have to hitch them up.
2. To connect or fasten something to something else. Who is going to hitch the rig up to the truck?
3. slang To get married. You guys better not elope and get hitched up without us!
See also: hitch, up

hitched

Married. Did you hear? Bill and David got hitched last week!
See also: hitch

thumb a lift

To hitchhike. (Done by putting one's thumb in the air in order to signal passing cars that one is looking for a ride.) I spent the summer thumbing lifts along the west coast. We didn't have any money for a taxi, so we had to thumb a life home.
See also: lift, thumb

thumb a ride

To hitchhike. (Done by putting one's thumb in the air in order to signal passing cars that one is looking for a ride.) I spent the summer thumbing rides along the west coast. We didn't have any money for a taxi, so we had to thumb a life home.
See also: ride, thumb

without a hitch

Without any problems at all; very smoothly, easily, or effortlessly. Used especially after "go off." I was nervous, but the whole plan went off without a hitch. I thought the date went off without a hitch, but he never called me back. Other than a brief delay at the airport, our trip has been without a hitch!
See also: hitch, without
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

have a hitch in one's gitalong

Rur. to have a permanent or temporary limp. Pappy's got quite a hitch in his gitalong since he broke his hip.
See also: have, hitch

hitch someone or something (up) (to something)

to attach someone or something to something. Please hitch the horse up to the wagon, and let's get going. Please hitch up the horse.

Hitch your wagon to a star.

Prov. Always aspire to do great things.; Do not set pessimistic goals. (From Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, "Civilization.") The speaker who delivered the high school commencement address challenged the graduating students to hitch their wagons to a star. Bob: What do you want to be when you grow up? Child: I used to want to be a great actor, but my dad told me hardly anybody gets to be an actor, so now I have to pick something else. Bob: Nonsense. If you want to be an actor, then do your best to be an actor. Hitch your wagon to a star!
See also: hitch, star, wagon

thumb a ride

 and hitch a ride
to get a ride from a passing motorist; to make a sign with one's thumb that indicates to passing drivers that one is asking for a ride. My car broke down on the highway, and I had to thumb a ride to get back to town. Sometimes it's dangerous to hitch a ride with a stranger.
See also: ride, thumb

without a hitch

Fig. with no problem(s). Everything went off without a hitch. We hoped the job would go off without a hitch.
See also: hitch, without
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

hitch a ride

Also, thumb a ride. Solicit a free ride, especially by hitchhiking. For example, I've no car; can I hitch a ride home with you? or He was hoping to thumb a ride to the stadium. The verb hitch here alludes to walking unevenly, presumably to hop into a car or truck; raising one's thumb is the traditional signal for stopping a car on the road. [First half of 1900s]
See also: hitch, ride

hitch one's wagon to a star

Aim high, as in Bill's hitching his wagon to a star-he plans to be a partner by age thirty. This metaphoric expression was invented by essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1870.
See also: hitch, star, wagon
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

hitch your wagon to someone/something

If someone hitches their wagon to a successful person or thing, they try to use that person or thing to make themselves more successful. Jones isn't the only footballer to have hitched his wagon to brand promotion. They made a big mistake hitching their wagon to The Beatles. Note: You can also say that you hitch your wagon to a star or to someone's star, with the same meaning. Giammetti had the good fortune to hitch his wagon to a brilliant star. A powerful network had by now hitched their wagons to Johnson's star. Note: This is a quotation from the essay `Civilization' (1870) by the American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson: `Now that is the wisdom of a man, in every instance of his labor, to hitch his wagon to a star, and see his chore done by the gods themselves.'
See also: hitch, someone, something, wagon
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

hitch horses together

get on well together; act in harmony. US
See also: hitch, horse, together

hitch your wagon to a star

make use of powers higher than your own.
This phrase was used by the American philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1870 in the context of idealistic aspiration; modern usage generally has the more cynical implication of attaching yourself to someone successful or famous in order to profit from the association.
1998 Spectator [ Francis Bacon ] was among the first to hitch his wagon to the star of the repulsive George Villiers … James I's next favourite.
See also: hitch, star, wagon
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

hitch your ˌwagon to a ˈstar

,

hitch your wagon to somebody/something

try to succeed by forming a relationship with somebody/something that is already successful: She quit the group and hitched her wagon to the dance band ‘Beats’. We must be careful. We don’t want to hitch our wagon to the wrong star.
Hitch means to tie or attach something to something else.
See also: hitch, star, wagon

get ˈhitched

(informal) get married: They got hitched last year without telling anybody about it.
See also: get, hitch

thumb/hitch a ˈlift

stand by the side of the road with your thumb out because you want a driver to stop and take you somewhere: We tried to hitch a lift, but nobody stopped to pick us up.
See also: hitch, lift, thumb
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

hitch up

v.
1. To pull up something, especially an item of clothing: I keep hitching up my pants because I forgot to wear a belt today. The pioneers hitched their pantlegs up and crossed the creek.
2. To attach something or someone to something or someone else with a hitch: I hitched up the trailer to the car. They hitched the horses up to the wagon.
3. Slang To marry: They hitched up last month in Las Vegas.
See also: hitch, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.

hitched

mod. married. (Folksy.) Sam and Mary decided to get hitched.
See also: hitch

thumb a ride

tv. to beg a ride; to stand at the side of the street and signal to cars with one’s thumb for a ride; to hitchhike. I’ll thumb a ride to get there if I have to.
See also: ride, thumb

without a hitch

mod. with no problem(s). Everything went off without a hitch.
See also: hitch, without
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

hitch one's wagon to a star, to

To aim high. This metaphor was coined by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who in 1870 wrote, “Hitch your wagon to a star. Let us not fag in paltry works which serve our pot and bag alone” (Society and Solitude: Civilization). Ogden Nash played on this cliché in his poem “Kindly Unhitch That Star” (1940).
See also: hitch, wagon
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

hitch your wagon to a star

Set high goals. The phrase come from an 1862 Ralph Waldo Emerson essay “American Civilization”: “Now that is the wisdom of a man, in every instance of his labor, to hitch his wagon to a star, and see his chore done by the gods themselves. That is the way we are strong, by borrowing the might of the elements. The forces of steam, gravity, galvanism, light, magnets, wind, fire, serve us day by day, and cost us nothing.” It used to be heard among other bit of avuncular or graduation speech advice. Then advice for the future became more specific, like “plastics” in the movie The Graduate. Nowadays, in this economy, your guess is as good as mine.
See also: hitch, star, wagon
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • go off without a hitch
  • indication
  • with advance notice
  • lightning never strikes twice in the same place
  • advance notice
  • have an/(one's) ear close to the ground
  • have an/(one's) ear to the ground
  • keep/have an/your ear to the ground
  • ear to the ground, have one's
  • have an ear to the ground
References in periodicals archive
In 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to the customer demand on this and promised an optional tow hitch for the Model 3 will be coming. But there was a long wait.
Tesla Model 3 Now Has Tow Hitch Feature, Available Only In Europe
In March the court heard how Hitch was caught in a "spin-off" from a Bedfordshire Police investigation and admitted three charges of making indecent pictures of children, his first conviction.
Sex offender back in court for breach of order; former care worker had failed to give police credit card details
"This version allows you to open van doors or a pick-up tailgate on vehicles where there is little clearance above the hitch," said Paul Denton, Spaldings product development manager.
Quick Hitch is a marriage of convenience; INVENTOR'S TRAILER GADGET ATTRACTS INTEREST
"If you used a hitch as large as six horses, you wouldn't have to stop and rest horses as often either," he says.
Plowing with MULTI-HORSE HITCHES: VINTAGE PLOWS ARE JUST PART OF SOUTH DAKOTA MAN'S VISION
He installs his own hitches, secures his own loads, and takes towing safety seriously.
Fully loaded: choose the right trailer for your homestead: from stock trailers to flatbeds, here's the lowdown on your hauling options, plus tips on "towing" the line of safety
13) Using the doubled strands of thread, make more half hitches toward the joint.
Top shot: lighten up on your trolling tackle with this method
The hitch receiver is an ideal mount when the same tow vehicle is used with several different hitch sizes and styles.
Hooking up with the trailer: a good trailer can be one of your best assets, but it helps to know a few things first
But Hitch replies: "What if someone really good made a horror picture?" Paramount Pictures are equally opposed to the idea and the couple end up mortgaging their home to raise the cash.
Hitch a lift for Alma
initials with Hitch, but he also brings Hannibal Lecter's serial-killing persona to the table.Biopics should never try to cover too much (like Clint Eastwood's J Edgar), but I would have loved a touch more background to the relationship between Alma and her man.
Funny business looking into Alf; GRAHAM YOUNG Our man with the popcorn... HITCHCOCK (12A) VERDICT:
Hitch studies the value of mine waste rock for its CO2-sequestration potential, or "SP." He says mining companies across Canada will, in future, be able to offset CO2 emissions with so-named "SP rock," and within 25 years could even be selling emissions credits.
Tapping into CO2 storage potential of mine waste
STV said in a statement: "Due to a technical hitch, all four stories went live on our website.
TV bosses sorry for vote gaffe
Film -- Hitch on MBC 2 at 11pm If a guy in New York City wants to make the right impression with a certain lady, Alex 'Hitch' Hitchens is the man to call.
TV Guide
Please--never hitch any load to a tractor to any point on the axle or above the axle!
Be careful when hitching chains on tractors
One of the funniest maneuvers to watch is a boater (provided it's not you) trying to attach his trailer's hitch to the ball of his tow vehicle.
Getting hitched: simple devices take the anxiety out of hitchin' time
This was a simple job that we aircraft maintainers do all the time, but as I was trying to disconnect the tow truck hitch from the power unit's tow bar, the tow bar got lodged against the front hook of the tow truck hitch.
Pulling my finger