take a powder, to

take a powder

To leave a place very quickly and often discreetly. Sometimes used as an imperative. Realizing they would blame him for the error, Jim took a powder while everyone's attention was diverted. I recommend you take a powder before things start getting dangerous.See also: powder, take

take a powder

Sl. to leave; to leave town. (Underworld.) Why don't you take a powder? Go on! Beat it! Willie took a powder and will lie low for a while.See also: powder, take

take a powder

Make a speedy departure, run away, as in I looked around and he was gone-he'd taken a powder. This slangy idiom may be derived from the British dialect sense of powder as "a sudden hurry," a usage dating from about 1600. It may also allude to the explosive quality of gunpowder. See also: powder, take

take a powder

AMERICAN, INFORMALIf you take a powder, you leave a place very quickly and usually secretly. I knew that even if they realized I'd taken a powder, they wouldn't go looking for me.See also: powder, take

take a powder

depart quickly, especially in order to avoid a difficult situation. North American informal 2002 New York Times Why don't you take a powder, jerk, or how'd you like a knuckle sandwich? See also: powder, take

take a ˈpowder

(American English, informal) leave suddenly; run away: She hung about all morning getting in my way, so in the end I told her to take a powder.See also: powder, take

take a powder

tv. to leave; to leave town. (Underworld.) Bruno took a powder and will lie low for a while. See also: powder, take

take a powder

To make a quick departure; run away.See also: powder, take

take a powder, to

To leave quickly. The origin of this expression is obscure, even though it is relatively recent (twentieth century). Since about 1600 a powder has meant “a hurry,” possibly derived from the speed of gunpowder. “Ile sett you in with a powder,” that is, with a rush, appears in a play, Club Law (ca. 1600), by an unknown writer. This meaning persisted well into the nineteenth century, mainly in Britain. In the 1920s, however, in popular literature, characters departing in haste were said to take a runout powder. P. G. Wodehouse used it in Money in the Bank (1942), “And have him take a runout powder? Be yourself, lady.” One writer has suggested this might refer to a laxative, but that interpretation seems unlikely. Moreover, the French have a similar expression, Prendre la poudre d’escampette, “To take the scampering powder,” or, in more idiomatic terms, “to bolt.”See also: take