touch-and-go

Meanings

1. 1adjectiveafter a verbinformal

   Very uncertain and risky, with the result open to going either way, often with a serious danger of failing or dying.

   Grammar: Usually follows a linking verb such as be or seem: it was touch-and-go. It is rarely put before a noun.

   Patterns

   • it is touch-and-go whether something happens
   • be touch-and-go

   For two days it was touch-and-go whether she would survive the surgery.

   The match was touch-and-go until the final minute.

   It was touch-and-go whether we would catch the last train.

2. 2adjectiveafter a verbinformal

   Describing a situation that needs very careful handling because any mistake could make it fail.

   Grammar: After a verb, often with 'for a while': it was touch-and-go for a while.

   Patterns

   • touch-and-go for a while
   • a touch-and-go situation

   Negotiations were touch-and-go for a week before the deal was signed.

   Landing in the storm was touch-and-go, and the passengers held their breath.

   The company's survival is touch-and-go until the new investor arrives.

Common combinations

touch-and-go whether

It was touch-and-go whether the bridge would reopen in time.

touch-and-go for a while

It was touch-and-go for a while, but the patient pulled through.

a touch-and-go situation

Rescuers faced a touch-and-go situation on the icy cliff.

seem touch-and-go

The outcome seemed touch-and-go right up to the vote.

remain touch-and-go

His recovery remained touch-and-go for several days.

Synonyms and how they differ

precarious

Precarious describes a situation that is unstable and could collapse, and it can go before a noun, which touch-and-go rarely does.

uncertain

Uncertain is neutral and mild, whereas touch-and-go suggests real danger and a very close result.

dicey

Dicey is more casual and means risky, but it lacks the sense of a result hanging in the balance.

critical

Critical stresses that a situation is at its most serious point, often medically, without the idea that the result could swing either way.

Opposites

Word family

touch noun

a light contact, or a small amount of something

touch verb

to put your hand or another part on something

touchy adjective

easily upset, or needing careful handling

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “touch-and-go”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words