Meanings
prepositional phrase
- Instinctively; without planning ahead.
By necessity, then, most of us were teaching from the hip.
1993, Linda Myers, Approaches to Computer Writing Classrooms: Learning From Practical Experience, page 861 more example
Hasluck tells the story at a rapid pace and with racy charm. There is some refreshingly Australian talking from the hip. "When a company's being milked, you don't look for a bucket under its tits. You look up its arse."
1980, New Statesman
Origin
Extension of shoot from the hip.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish lonkalta
- lonkaltainstinctively, without planning ahead
German aus der Hüfte
- aus der Hüfteinstinctively, without planning ahead
Hungarian csípőből
- csípőbőlinstinctively, without planning ahead
Polish bez namysłu
- bez namysłuinstinctively, without planning ahead
Russian навскидку
- навскидку (navskidku)instinctively, without planning ahead
Cite this entry
APA
from the hip. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/from%20the%20hip
MLA
“from the hip.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/from%20the%20hip. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “from the hip,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/from%20the%20hip.
Source: from the hip on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.