fits and starts

F

fits and starts (idiom, adverbial phrase)
/ˌfɪts ən ˈstɑːrts/

Meanings

• Irregular activity with pauses and interruptions.
• Progress happening inconsistently, in bursts rather than smoothly.
• Not regular.

Synonyms: sporadically; intermittently; irregularly; unevenly; unpredictably.

Variants

• by fits and starts
• in fits and starts
• with fits and starts

Example Sentences

1. The old bus moved in fits and starts, shaking the passengers.
2. Their project advanced in fits and starts, never following a steady path.
3. Progress came by fits and starts, leaving everyone uncertain.
4. The machine worked with fits and starts, often breaking down mid-task.

Origin and History

The idiom “fits and starts” originated from English expressions describing sudden, spasmodic movements. Early modern English “fit” meant a paroxysm, seizure, or short burst of activity, while “start” referred to a sudden leap or impulse. Combined, the two words created a fixed expression emphasizing irregular, intermittent action. As a phrase, it was formed to convey inconsistency or bursts of activity, rather than smooth, continuous motion. For example, “The old carriage moved in fits and starts, jolting the passengers at every turn.”

Country and Linguistic Origin

The idiom first appeared in England during the late Renaissance and early Stuart period. English authors and printers consistently used the phrase in seventeenth-century literary and sermonic texts. Its formation is a native English creation rather than a borrowing from another language. For instance, “Progress on the manuscript came in fits and starts, never following a regular rhythm.”

Earliest Printed Attestation

The earliest known printed occurrence of the idiom is in Robert Sanderson’s sermon collection, delivered at Boston, Lincoln, on 13 March 1620 and printed in London in 1657. The text states:

“But if thou hast these things only by fits and starts, and sudden moods; and art sometimes violently hot upon them, other sometimes again, and oftner, key cold …”

This usage confirms the phrase was understood in seventeenth-century England as describing intermittent or inconsistent behavior.

Earlier Forms

Before the combination of “fit” and “start,” each word appeared individually to describe irregular actions. By fits was in use in the late sixteenth century, and start had long conveyed sudden impulses. William Warner’s poem Albion’s England (1586/1597) demonstrates the semantic field from which the idiom emerged, with expressions of sudden bursts of action. The merging of these two concepts into a single phrase solidified in seventeenth-century prose and sermons. For example, “The engine functioned by fits and starts, stopping and starting unpredictably.”

Scholarly Assessment and Conclusion

The idiom “fits and starts” is a direct English formation, created by combining two words that already conveyed irregular or sudden motion. By the mid-seventeenth century, the phrase was clearly established in English usage to describe actions or progress that occur intermittently. Its continued use in both literary and spoken English reflects its precise meaning: irregularity in action or movement. A quotation illustrating this: “The negotiations advanced only in fits and starts, frustrating all parties involved.”

Important