hit-or-miss
3
6.9
- adjective
- /ˈhɪtərˌmɪs/
- Informal
:
impredecible
- But I was only on campus three days a week and held office hours just twice a week, so my contact with colleagues was mostly hit-or-miss.
I will say hit or miss, whether you might love it or you might hate it.
- I will say hit or miss, whether you might love it or you might hate it.
- And if you look at something like Aldrich Ames career in particular, you you've got these kind of his his career in the CIA was hit or miss.
Examples
-
The loose powders, especially on my skin, are really hit or miss, mostly miss.
-
Remakes like this one are always hit-or-miss, but this one happens to hit, and hard.
Blog text (3) -
Back then, special effects looked cheap, and it was always hit or miss as to whether they would work.
Academic text (2009) -
They are hit or miss in my opinion, mostly hit, to be honest.
-
I think the quality from HF can be hit or miss.
Blog text (8) -
The HF quality can be hit or miss, but in general seems to be constantly improving.
Blog text (8) -
Two of the programs, based on counseling, are hit-or-miss and serve only a tiny number of girls.
Academic text (2003) -
In my observation, an unending or overambitious menu tends to create a hit-or-miss reputation for a restaurant.
Blog text (7) -
But even for them, we believe TJ provides a framework to support practicing law as a healing profession in an explicit and systematic way, not with the hit-or-miss approach that often accompanies a busy practice and lifestyle.
Academic text (2003) -
The movie was a hit-or-miss; some people loved it while others thought it was terrible.
Synonyms
527
3.4
Happening without a plan and by chance
16
7.2
No clear order or plan and often messy
3
6.9
Not certain and likely to be risky
1
8.1
Happening by luck rather than by planning
1
8.7
Happens by luck, not by skill
Likely to involve risk or an uncertain result
Unpredictable because it depends on chance
Having no single predictable result because chance affects it
Antonyms
How Reliable
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The phrase hit-or-miss comes from the simple idea of trying to hit a target: you either hit it or miss it. So if something is hit-or-miss, the result is not certain and often depends on luck rather than careful planning.