hop, skip, and a jump

or hop, skip, and jump

noun

1. a short distance:

   The laundry is just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hop, skip, and a jump¹

First recorded in 1750–60

Idioms and Phrases

A short distance, as in It's just a hop, skip, and a jump from my house to yours . This expression, dating from the early 1700s, originally referred to an exercise or game involving these movements, but by the mid-1800s was also being used figuratively for the short distance so covered.

Example Sentences

A snowy hop, skip and a jump away from Seattle at Snoqualmie Pass is this tubing park with all the bells and whistles at the Summit at Snoqualmie ski area, should you wish to skip the old-school sledding experience for the ski-hill alternative.

From Seattle Times

“Pretty soon, nobody is going to be more than a hop, skip and a jump away from a no-income-tax state,” Norquist told Mississippi lawmakers at a hearing.

From Seattle Times

The historic ghost town of Bodie is just another hop, skip and a jump away, while the flash of a snowshoe hare’s white feet might catch your eye from the trail.

From Seattle Times

In the top of the first, leadoff hitter AJ Pollock — hitting a hop, skip and a jump away from .400 since the All-Star break — singled to begin the Dodgers’ attack.

From Los Angeles Times

From there, it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to first courses, which for me comes down to either Burgundy snails bathed in garlic butter and parsley or a seafood salad from Poseidon’s pantry: chilled crab, shrimp, scallops, lobster and salmon lightly bound in rémoulade.

From Washington Post