touch and go

== English == === Etymology === The original sense, now obsolete, seems to have been that of brief encounters. The subsequent nautical sense then gave rise first to the abstract sense (indicating a hazardous situation) and later, by physical analogy, to the aeronautical sense. === Adjective === touch and go (comparative more touch and go, superlative most touch and go) (obsolete) Characterized by brief and transitory encounters. Precarious, delicate, risky, sensitive; of uncertain outcome (by analogy with a ship in shallow water). === Verb === touch and go (third-person singular simple present touches and goes, present participle touching and going, simple past touched and went, past participle touched and gone) (obsolete) To briefly encounter before moving on. (nautical) To touch bottom lightly and continue without damage, as a vessel in motion. (aviation) To perform a touch-and-go landing.