How would you interpret the phrase “he almost hooked up with”? How would you interpret the phrase “he almost hooked up with” in the third sentence? I would think it means the man had almost succeeded in having sex with some waitress. What do you think? Thank you. PS: the excerpt is taken from “Kneller’s Happy Campers” written by an Israeli author, Etgar Keret. And I’m reading an English translation. the context: I haven’t done the bars for almost two weeks. Uzi keeps calling anyway, bugging me about how I’m missing out on the babes, and the laughs, and that he promises not to bring Kurt along, but so far I’m sitting tight. Once every three days, he even comes to see me at like three a.m., helps himself to a beer, and tells me some funny story I should’ve heard at the bar or about some waitress he almost hooked up with. He never leaves anything out, like when some kid misses school and another kid comes over to tell him what they have to do for homework. And then, just before he leaves he tries to talk me into going out for a little espresso before we crash.