"be hit-and-run"

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Jun 25, 2008, at 10:21 PM, Randy Alexander wrote:

> I would tend more toward thinking of it as turning the noun
> "hit-and-run" into a verb.

well, it turns out that NOAD2's entry for "hit-and-run" (also "hit and
run") has it as an adjective, but with (zero-)derived noun and verb.
it doesn't say what the forms of the verb would be, though we now have
"hit and run" in the past participle (in passives), and some of past
"hit and ran".  you can also find past "hit and run":

and by the way, there is no such thing as an "accidental hit and
run"...he hit and run after an accident.
boards.buffalobills.com/showthread.php?t=62131&page=3

OED2 doesn't give a part of speech for "hit and run", but the entry
clearly treats it as a noun, and things like "hit and run driver" are
treated as having attributive uses of the word.

the baseball use of "hit and run" is very often pluralized as "hits
and run", as in "two hits and run scored".  fewer hits for "two hit
and runs", even fewer for "two hits and runs", but both are attested.

arnold

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