Many animals, including deer and horses, raise their tails when they flee, making the action a good metaphor for a panicked retreat. The best guess I’ve seen is that “skedaddle,” which first appeared as military slang meaning “to flee” during the American Civil War, is related in some way to the Irish word “sgedadol,” meaning “scattered.” “Skedaddle” is a much shorter story, simply because nothing is known of its origins. “Bolt” as a verb meaning “leave suddenly and quickly” also harks back to this original “arrow” meaning, the sense being that the person leaves as if shot like an arrow. The use of “bolt” to mean “arrow” also led to it meaning “stout pin used to hold things together” and even “a roll of fabric” (from its shape). By the early 16th century, we were also using “bolt” to mean a discharge of lightning (“thunderbolt”) and, shortly thereafter, as a metaphor for something dramatic and unanticipated (“bolt from the blue”). When “bolt” first appeared in Old English, derived from Germanic roots, it meant “projectile,” particularly the sort of short arrow fired from a crossbow. As you’ve noticed, the lexicon of leaving is a rich and varied one, a tribute to the usual wisdom of choosing “flight” over “fight.” The verb “to bolt,” meaning “to dart or rush suddenly away” is one of the oldest on your list, but to explain the verb “to bolt” we must first explain the noun form. More often the question runs something like “Where did ‘cat o’ nine tails’ come from? Is the Mississippi named for somebody? And, by the way, is ‘snuck’ a real word?” At least the words are related in meaning. Leaving so soon? I must say that yours is one of the better jobs I’ve seen of shoehorning multiple questions into one email. I conjecture that “bolt” comes from a bolt of lightning, and “skedaddle” sounds like it means, but why have “book” and “hightail” come to mean “leave quickly?” - Michael Duggan. Send us feedback.Dear Word Detective: When needing a quick exit, I might bolt for freedom, hightail it out of there, skedaddle, or just book it out of there. These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'skedaddle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. 2018 Terry caught a screen-pass on the left side, broke a few tackles and skedaddled 58 yard toward glory.Īaron Carter,, 8 Sep. Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 8 Feb.
2018 His wife has skedaddled, but his nosy neighbor (the delightful Diana Bang) is eager to clean his house and enable his quest to track down the woman who was once almost his adoptive sister. 2017 After the car rolled backwards into the street, the two guys inside the car skedaddled.ĭavid J. Smith Henderson, Popular Mechanics, 11 Jan. Lynn Yaeger, Vogue, 9 June 2019 Ron's wife, Jan, wanted to pack up and be ready to skedaddle. Ford had skedaddled, leaving Perot and Dawkins to face the music.Ĭheryl Hall, Dallas News, 13 July 2019 At a news conference on Tuesday-three days before British Prime Minister Theresa May was set to skedaddle off the world stage forever-the president questioned whether anyone was less than thrilled at his presence.
SI.com, 25 July 2019 Somewhere in the midst of all this, the Rev. 2020 Arsenal have officially confirmed the capture of St Etienne centre back William Saliba, with the Frenchman putting pen to paper on a five-year deal at the Emirates before skedaddling straight back to the Ligue 1 side on loan for 2019/20.
#SKEDADDLE MEANING DRIVERS#
Recent Examples on the Web Sedan drivers skedaddle like frightened children when this Ranger fills their mirrors.
0 kommentar(er)
