hit the pavement

present singular third person hits the pavement · participle present hitting the pavement

1. idiomaticTo travel on foot, as on a sidewalk.

   But getting people to hit the pavement is more than just a health concern. . . . [M]unicipalities are looking to combat inner-city decay by keeping the streets flush with pedestrians.

   2007 July 31, Ceri Au, “Fighting for the Right to Flush”, in Time

2. idiomaticTo travel or begin to move in an automobile or other road vehicle.

   And when we hit the pavement, we found we had covered the last 54 miles in an hour and twenty minutes.

   1925, "Automotive Section: "Hitting it up" (advertisement)," Ottawa Citizen, 4 July (retrieved 28 Sep 2010)

   Synonyms: hit the bricks, pound the pavement, hit the road