take a powder

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 press, etc.:
    ... she's the one who took the powder. I didn't ask her to leave. (Turow, 1987)
    ... you guys took a powder and the Krauts just came rolling over your support areas. (Deighton, 1981)
    Dean commented it would be a good thing... for Hunt to take a powder. (Colodny and Gettlin, 1991 — Hunt was a Watergate witness)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • 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 — verb disappear without notifying anyone (idiom) • Syn: ↑skip town • Hypernyms: ↑disappear, ↑vanish, ↑go away • Verb Frames: Somebody s * …   Useful english dictionary

  • 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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