{"id":10676,"date":"2022-11-16T22:16:38","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:16:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=10676"},"modified":"2022-11-16T22:16:38","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:16:38","slug":"take-a-hike-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/take-a-hike-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Take a Hike \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you desperately want to get rid of a persistent door-to-door salesman who pushed his foot in the door to convince you to buy his set of amazing plastic containers? You might yell, \u201cTake a hike!<\/strong>\u201d to get the message across.<\/p>\n

Learn more about the meaning and origin of this idiom in this post.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The idiomatic saying \u201ctake a hike<\/strong>\u201d is a strongly-worded and slightly impolite way to ask someone to leave<\/u>.<\/p>\n

A hike can be defined as a vigorous long walk, so when you tell someone to \u201ctake a hike<\/strong>,\u201d you say that you would like the person to go away.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking a hike\u201d also has a literal meaning<\/strong>. If you would like to invite someone to go on a nature trail with you, it is better to ask, \u201cWould you like to go hiking with me?\u201d than to say, \u201cLet\u2019s take a hike!\u201d<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

Are you curious how the idiom \u201ctake a hike<\/strong>\u201d is used in everyday language? These example sentences will help you out:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u201cSo, I was at the bar waiting for my boyfriend the other night, and this guy kept offering to buy me drinks. I told him to take a hike<\/strong> after the third time, but he still had another go. What a creep!\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cThat new student has been following me around like a puppy. It\u2019s annoying, but I don\u2019t want to be rude. Do you think I should tell him to take a hike<\/strong>?\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cMy aunt has been trying to set me up with her friends\u2019 daughters. I\u2019d really like to tell her to take a hike<\/strong>, but I don\u2019t have the heart to offend her. What should I do?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Origin<\/h2>\n

    Interestingly, the word \u201chike<\/strong>,\u201d meaning \u201ca vigorous long walk<\/strong>,\u201d only dates back to the early 19th<\/sup> century<\/strong>. The word\u2019s origins are unknown, but it used to be spelled \u201chyke<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Although the word \u201chike\u201d has been around since the early 1800s, it only became popular at the beginning of the 20th<\/sup> century<\/strong>. Hiking, or taking long walks in nature for recreational reasons, became a more common pastime then.<\/p>\n

    \u201cTake a hike<\/strong>,\u201d as an idiomatic phrase to tell someone to go away because you don\u2019t want to see them, dates back to the 1940s and originated in the United States.<\/p>\n

    The phrase is informal and, depending on whom you ask, mildly or fairly offensive. You can use the expression when joking around with your friends or addressing someone you never want to see again.<\/p>\n

    Dictionary entries usually describe \u201ctake a hike\u201d as impolite. However, that depends on the speaker\u2019s cultural context. For example, a 2016 Urban Dictionary<\/em> entry describes \u201ctake a hike\u201d as a polite way to tell someone to \u201cget the fuck out.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Phrases Similar to Take a Hike<\/h2>\n

    If you don\u2019t want to use the phrase \u201ctake a hike,\u201d you can also say:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Get lost<\/strong> \u2014 a phrase with the same tone and meaning.<\/li>\n
    • Skedaddle<\/strong> \u2014 another way to tell someone to go away.<\/li>\n
    • Be gone.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Less polite ways to convey the same message include \u201cfuck off<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cpiss off<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Phrases Opposite to Take a Hike<\/h2>\n

      You may welcome someone\u2019s presence<\/strong> if you don\u2019t want them to \u201ctake a hike<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

      In that case, you may say, \u201cPlease come in<\/strong>,\u201d or \u201cYou\u2019re welcome here<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

      What Is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n

      The correct saying is \u201ctake a hike<\/strong>.\u201d This phrase is a strong way to tell someone to leave.<\/p>\n

      Ways People May Say Take a Hike Incorrectly<\/h2>\n

      Nature-loving English learners who know that \u201ctaking a hike\u201d means taking a walk may risk offending people when they innocently invite people to take a hike.<\/p>\n

      If you are talking about a literal hike (outdoors, with hiking boots), make that clear.<\/p>\n

      Acceptable Ways to Phrase Take a Hike<\/h2>\n

      You can tell an annoying person you don\u2019t want around to \u201ctake a hike<\/strong>.\u201d This message tells the person you don\u2019t like them in no uncertain terms.<\/p>\n

      You might also jokingly tell a friend to \u201ctake a hike\u201d when they persistently ask you to do something you don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Do you desperately want to get rid of a persistent door-to-door salesman who pushed his foot in the door to convince you to buy his set of amazing plastic containers? You might yell, \u201cTake a hike!\u201d to get the message across. Learn more about the meaning and origin of this idiom in this post. Meaning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10676"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10676"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10678,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10676\/revisions\/10678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}