The chapter is concerned with the metonymic use of
hit in expressions such as
hit the
road. The metonymic nature underlying these expressions has already been noticed by
Ruhl (1989) and
Hirtle (2013). The present study focuses on the mapping of the literal use of
hit as the metonymic source to its target. The metonymic source is characterized by the use of
hit as an Achievement verb in sentences such as
The ball hit the window. The metonymic
target in
hit the road comprises two events, motion to a goal and a subsequent action. The relevant part of
meaning resides in the unexpressed action. The action is inferred from the close relationship between a type of thing and
potential actions afforded by the thing. In
Let’s hit the road, the type noun
road affords
metonymic “routes” to three motivated kinds of actions: ‘travelling’, ‘beginning a journey’ and ‘leaving’.