Touch and go

Posted by James Briggs on November 09, 2003

In Reply to: Touch and go posted by Phillip on November 09, 2003

: Does anyone know the origin of 'Touch and go'?
: Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.

A Touch & Go situation is one where the outcome is potentially dangerous, perhaps even disastrous. The expression is another with a nautical background. In the days of sail often the only way to transfer goods, or even a person, between ships was to bring the two vessels so close that they actually touched. This was clearly highly dangerous thus, when the transfer was successfully completed, the next event was to Go and separate the vessels as quickly as possible.