take a powder

take a powder
verb
disappear without notifying anyone (idiom)
Syn: ↑skip town
Hypernyms: ↑disappear, ↑vanish, ↑go away
Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s

* * *

phrasal or take a runout powder
slang : to leave hurriedly : skip out : decamp, flee

not likely to cross you up or take a powder on you — W.L.Gresham

taking a powder and leaving everything up in the air — George Sklar

took a powder for Paris accompanied by a beautiful blond mistress — Mike Stern

took a runout powder this morning — Clayton Rawson

* * *

informal depart quickly, esp. in order to avoid a difficult situation

* * *

take a powder
US informal + old-fashioned : to leave suddenly and quickly

The boys decided to take a powder as soon as they saw there was work to be done.

• • •
Main Entry:powder

* * *

take a ˈpowder idiom
(NAmE, informal) to leave suddenly; to run away
Main entry:powderidiom

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • take a powder — {v. phr.}, {slang} To leave hurriedly; run out or away; desert, flee. * /All the gang except one had taken a powder when the police arrived./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • take a powder — {v. phr.}, {slang} To leave hurriedly; run out or away; desert, flee. * /All the gang except one had taken a powder when the police arrived./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • take a powder — ► take a powder N. Amer. informal depart quickly. Main Entry: ↑powder …   English terms dictionary

  • take a powder —    to leave hurriedly to avoid an obligation or publicity    Alluding to the rapid departure necessitated after taking a laxative. It may refer to checking out of a hotel without paying, deserting a spouse, running away in battle, avoiding the… …   How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms

  • take a powder — tv. to leave; to leave town. (Underworld.) □ Why don’t you take a powder? Go on! Beat it! □ Bruno took a powder and will lie low for a while …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • take a powder — v To leave. Look, if you don t like it here, take a powder. 1940s …   Historical dictionary of American slang

  • take a powder N. Amer. — take a powder N. Amer. informal depart quickly. → powder …   English new terms dictionary

  • take a powder — Synonyms and related words: absquatulate, beat it, blow, decamp, dog it, duck and run, duck out, lam, make off, powder, scram, skedaddle, skin out, skip, skip out, split, take off, vamoose …   Moby Thesaurus

  • take a powder — leave quickly, flew the coop, take a hike    Where s Louis? He took a powder when he heard the sirens …   English idioms

  • take a powder — verb To leave in a hurry; run away; scram; depart without taking leave or notifying anyone, often with a connotation of avoiding something unpleasant or shirking responsibility. Macdonald spoke slowly, bitterly. The kidnapping is one too many for …   Wiktionary

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