hippity-hop

hippity-hop

English

Alternative forms

• hippety-hop

Etymology

Compound of *hippity + hop, in turn from hip (a regional variant of hop) +‎ -ety. Attested since the middle nineteenth century, with hippity-hoppity appearing somewhat earlier.

Adjective

hippity-hop (comparative more hippity-hop, superlative most hippity-hop)

1. (childish) Moving by hopping, having an uneven gait.
   • 1987, G. Bennett, Birdfinding in Canada‎, page 21:

     There must be hundreds of them killed every summer day - and, it's no wonder when one observes the erratic, hippity-hop way they try to cross the road.

2. (figuratively) Proceeding through uneven stages.
   • 1976, Bill Hosokawa, Thunder in the Rockies: The Incredible Denver Post, page 133:

     In 1927, when United Air Lines began service over a hippity-hop route between San Francisco and Chicago, Cheyenne again rather than Denver was picked as a stop.

Adverb

hippity-hop (not comparable)

1. (childish) Unevenly, with a hopping gait.
   • 1857, John Edward Taylor, “The Wild Man”, in The Fairy Ring: A Collection of Tales and Traditions, Translated from the German of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, page 101:

     So he mounted the horse, which went hippity-hop, hippity-hop.

   • 1938, Elizabeth Baker, Language Journeys with our Friends, page 109:

     Which show how the tortoise moved? hopped / waddled / scampered / scurried / plodded / ran hippity-hop / took one slow step after another

Usage notes

• Frequently used with the verb go: "He went hippity-hop all the way down the hill."

Noun

hippity-hop (plural hippity-hops)

1. (childish) A hop

Verb

hippity-hop (third-person singular simple present hippity-hops, present participle hippity-hopping, simple past and past participle hippity-hopped)

1. (childish) to hop.

Related terms

• hippity-hoppity