hit it off, to

hit it off

To form an immediate, positive connection with someone. I just knew you and Haley would hit it off—you two have so much in common. I'm so glad that you hit it off with my father. He isn't always the easiest person to get to know.See also: hit, off

hit it off (with someone)

Fig. to quickly become good friends with someone. Look how John hit it off with Mary. Yes, they really hit it off.See also: hit, off

hit it off

Get along well together, as in I was so glad that our parents hit it off. In the 17th century this phrase was put simply as hit it, the adverb off being added only in the mid-1800s. See also: hit, off

hit it off

SPOKENCOMMON If two people hit it off when they first meet, they like each other and get on well together. Bill and Andrea seemed to hit it off last night. I had to leave — I didn't really hit it off with the new manager.See also: hit, off

hit it ˈoff (with somebody)

(informal) quickly form or have a good relationship with somebody: I met a girl at the party, and we hit it off straight away.See also: hit, off

hit it off

Informal To get along well together.See also: hit, off

hit it off, to

To get along well (with someone). To hit has long meant, in a secondary sense, to succeed, probably from a sport or game. Shakespeare used it in this way in numerous plays; for example, “Have all his ventures fail’d? What, not one hit?” appears in The Merchant of Venice (3.2). To “hit it off ” seems to be an elaboration of the same meaning, and dates back to the eighteenth century. “How do you and the great Mrs. Montague hit it off,” wrote diarist Madame d’Arblay in 1780.See also: hit