to jump through the hoop
1
7.4
- idiom
- /dʒʌmp θru ðə hup/
- Informal
:
saltar a través del aro
- Many students feel pressured to jump through the hoops required for college applications, even when they seem unnecessary.
So to be a scientist in this world, to me, to be a really good scientist, means to remain curious, not stick me in a box and make me just jump through the hoops.
- So to be a scientist in this world, to me, to be a really good scientist, means to remain curious, not stick me in a box and make me just jump through the hoops.
- Yeah, she jumped through the hoops to be accepted to challenge my criminal behaviour.
Examples
-
Yeah, she jumped through the hoops to be accepted to challenge my criminal behaviour.
-
They jump the hurdles and jump through the hoops.
Blog text (18) -
To get the promotion, I had to jump through the hoop of completing an extensive training course.
-
He had no choice but to jump through the hoops laid out by the strict regulations of his new job.
Synonyms
3
6.0
To do a lot of extra work or face problems for a small thing
Antonyms
How Demanding
26
4.1
- Informal
1
7.4
62
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase evokes the literal image of jumping through a hoop (jump + through + hoop), so learners who know the words can infer it involves performing a specific, somewhat awkward or effortful action. However, the idiomatic sense — doing difficult or unnecessary tasks to satisfy rules or an authority — is a metaphorical extension and contains pragmatic nuance that is not fully predictable from the parts, so a B1 learner may only partially guess the exact meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Jump through the hoop comes from the image of circus animals or performers made to jump through a hoop to please a trainer. So, it means 'to do something difficult or unnecessary because someone in power or a rule asks you to'.