Hit or miss
Today’s expression is “hit or miss.” If something is “hit or miss” then there is a chance that it will be good, and a chance that it will be bad; or, in some cases it’s good, while in some cases it’s bad.
Do you remember how you heard it earlier? I said that when ordering food for delivery, meat can be hit or miss. There’s a chance your meat will be good and a chance it will be bad. If you order meat off the grill and the temperature needs to be precise—like a medium-rare steak—then delivery is not a great option. You want to slice that steak about five to seven minutes after it’s done cooking, and then eat it right then and there. You don’t want to have to reheat it in the oven later. It’s just going to lose its flavor and texture. However, if you order slow-cooked meats like barbacoa or pulled pork or smoked chicken, then you can heat it up in the oven at a low temperature and you’ll be fine.
So, meat can be hit or miss when you get it delivered. It’s good in some cases, bad in other cases. Good if it’s a slow-cooked meat, bad if it’s a fresh-grilled meat or a burger. What else is hit-or-miss in this way? Ordering salmon even at a restaurant is, I think, hit or miss. Sometimes the restaurants will cook it well and it can be delicious, but just as often, I think, restaurants over-cook salmon and it’s just dry. I’ll only order salmon if I know the restaurant is going to do it well.
Is a Big Mac from McDonald’s hit or miss? No. You might like it, or you might not like it. But I can tell you one thing about a Big Mac, or really anything on the McDonald’s menu: it’s not hit or miss. It’s going to be the same every time.
A spinoff, in the television world, is a new TV series based on the characters of a previous series. These can be hit or miss. Sometimes, a spinoff can let the show’s creators dive deeper into a character that just didn’t get as much attention in the original. “Better Call Saul” is an example of a spinoff that’s really successful. “Frasier” from the 1990s was a spinoff of a character in the classic show “Cheers.” But sometimes the spinoffs are just too much. They’re trying too hard to continue a story that’s already dead.
I don’t love the show “Friends,” but I recognize that it was really successful, really popular in the 1990s. But did you see the spinoff called “Joey”? It was about the “Friends” character Joey after he moves to Los Angeles. That’s a spinoff that just didn’t work—it bombed. Have you seen “That 70s Show”? I bet some of you have. But I bet you haven’t seen “That 80s Show” because “That 80s Show” was such a bad spin-off, it lasted only 13 episodes.
So what can we conclude about spinoffs? Can we say they’re a good idea? Or can we say they’re a bad idea? I would say spinoffs are hit or miss. Sometimes they’re really good, sometimes they’re really bad.
The weather can be hit or miss. If someone asks me when to visit Chicago, I say June to September is the best time. If you come in May, the weather can be hit or miss. It could be cold and rainy or it can be bright and sunny. If you come in May, just be prepared, that’s what I say, because the weather can be hit or miss. If it’s a miss, well, we have great museums!
When’s a good time to go skiing in North America? Probably mid-December to mid-March. Sure, you can try skiing in late March or even late November, but the skiing is hit or miss that early or late in the season. Sometimes you’ll get good powder; other times, it won’t be as good.
If you describe a person as “hit or miss,” you’re saying that person is sometimes good, sometimes bad at something. Should we have Jeff give that really important presentation next week? I don’t know, someone might whisper, when I’m not close by, he can be kind of hit or miss. That means, sometimes I’m good at presentations, but sometimes I’m not very good.
JR’s song of the week
Time for JR’s Song of the Week. We pick an English song to feature in this space every Thursday, and this Thursday JR has selected “You Know I’m No Good” by Amy Winehouse. Amy Winehouse is a tragic figure in music—extremely talented, but she also struggled with her own demons and died of an alcohol overdose in London in 2011. The song “You Know I’m No Good” was about her own betrayal of her husband and her alcoholism.
In the lyrics, she seems to be apologizing for her own flaws and almost explaining that her flaws can’t be changed. One of the lines says, “I told you I was trouble, you know that I’m no good.”
You can play that song from your dashboard at PlainEnglish.com or from the link we post in our free Facebook group. To join the group, just visit PlainEnglish.com/Facebook, answer a few questions, and you’re in.
See you next time!
That’s all today. Remember, stay away from burgers and fried food when you place your next delivery order. Try a salad with the dressing on the side, or a Poké bowl if you haven’t tried that yet. I do like Poké; I’ve never had it delivered, but maybe that will be a good option if I run out of home-cooked food one day.
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