Skip to main content

Difference between Jump the traces and Jump the track

admin Confusing Phrases

jump the traces —(coll.) break loose from restraint; misbehave (also: kick over the traces):

  • I believe there would be enormous pressure on us to jump the traces and break out from under discipline.

jump the track—

1. (of railroad carriages) go off the rails:

  • Just as the train crossed a 40-foot high trestle, it jumped the track. The engine reached the other side, but the next eight cars crashed over the trestle.

2. (coll.) change from one thought or idea to another without plan or reason:

  • Any device that will clarify logical relationships between ideas is important because argument is prone to “jump the track” and take up unrelated issues.