Definition: To study for a test or exam
Example: Having scored a measly twenty percent on his last math test, Robert decided it was time to hit the books.
Origin:
There is no golden explanation for the origin for ‘hit the books’. Used since the mid twentieth century, it is probably related to other similar phrases that used ‘hit’ as a way of expressing starting something… phrases like ‘hit the trail‘ or ‘hit the road‘. If you are ‘hitting the books‘, you are starting to read them. Simple as that.
Iddy’s a bit disappointed. He was hoping for a Victorian tale of a bare knuckle boxer who challenged a library to a fight.
