Would you like to use an informal phrase that sounds casual, and means that someone has, or is going to get married? The phrase 'get hitched' is a common figurative saying in the English language that can be used to mean just that. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this discussion.
Meaning
The phrase 'get hitched' is a common figurative saying in the English language.
When someone 'gets hitched' then the saying is used as a reference to say that someone is getting (or has gotten) married.
The phrase can be used as 'get hitched' or as 'got(ten)' and 'getting' hitched, depending on the tense and the context.
'Get hitched' is a direct reference to marriage, and it can be said to someone or about someone.
'Get hitched' is most often a reference to a couple as a unit, but it can also be used to refer to the action (or the event) or marriage.
When used in the denial phrase to mean the negative, that someone didn't get married, it is used as 'didn't get hitched' or 'not getting hitched' to say this.
Example Usage
“Did you hear that Sarah and her mate got hitched last week? Nobody knew they were going to do it, they just sent out invitations an hour before the event was going to happen and you were there or you weren't.”
“If you don't want to get hitched next week, let's just cancel our Vegas trip and get a six-pack of the worst beer instead.”
“Let's get hitched, what do you think? We could move to Italy, change our names, and make a living as street musicians.”
“The good news is that your brother got hitched. The bad news is that it's with his own cousin. The worse news is that he doesn't really care about it.”
Origin
The origin of the phrase 'get hitched' can be found in the 1600s, according to most online language resources. The word 'hitch' or 'hitched' is said to come from the same era, though might have originated earlier and meant 'to jerk together' or 'to join (with force)'.
By the mid-1700s, the phrase 'get hitched' was already in common use as a colloquial phrase that was said to mean marriage.
The phrase continued until modern use, with its meaning unchanged since the assumed start of the saying.
The phrase is listed in Urban Dictionary from 2006, even though much earlier use of the saying is apparent. The phrase is listed multiple times, with a second definition listed in 2017.
Phrases Similar to Get Hitched
- Jump the broom
Phrases Opposite to Get Hitched
- N/a
What is the Correct Saying?
- Nasty brutish and short
- Nasty, brutish and short
Ways People May Say Get Hitched Incorrectly
There are several ways in which the phrase 'get hitched' can be used in the wrong way, or misunderstood by the rest of the discussion.
The phrase is a figurative saying that can be used to mean either the act or the event of marriage.
The phrase has an alternative, literal meaning that means 'to hitch' a trailer (to a car), thus to attach. This is not the general use of the idiomatic phrase.
The opposite of the phrase, 'not getting hitched', means that someone did not get married – not that they got divorced.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Get Hitched
There are several correct ways in which someone can use the phrase 'get hitched' or 'to get hitched' in order to mean marriage – the act or the event.
When someone 'gets hitched', they get married. When someone has 'gotten hitched' it is the same phrase, but in the past tense. The phrase can also say that someone 'is getting hitched' in the future tense.