Split, vamoose

Posted by ESC on April 23, 2004

In Reply to: To leave in a hurry/ a hasty departure posted by Charlie Brown on April 23, 2004

: : : : : Any input please on the origins of
: : : : 1. bug out for the dugout ( late 50's beat? )
: : : : 2. vamoose ( Spanish perhaps? )
: : : : 3. split ( 60's hip? )
: : : : Any additional words and phrases of similar meaning would be appreciated.

: : : I'll look in my youth slang books this evening. How about:

: : : Beat feet.
: : : Beat cheeks.
: : : Heel-toe it.
: : : Make like an egg and beat it.
: : : Make like a tree and leave.
: : : Make like horse**** and hit the trail.
: : : Make like a hockey player and get the puck out of here.
: : Many thanks ESC!

: Make like a drum and beat it.
: "I'm off like a prom dress"
: Make like a shepard and get the flock out of here.
: As Yogi bear would say, "Let's beat a hasty retreat."
: Let's bounce outta here.
: Let's hit it.
: Let's hit the road, toad.

Split - Meaning "to leave." Listed under three chapters: The Beat Counterculture of the 1950s (Page 93); The Hippie Counterculture of the 1960s (Page 149) and The 1970s and 1980s (Page 185). Variations: "split the scene" and "split the scene and leave it clean" are under The Mainstream 1960s. Page 121. From "Flappers 2 Rappers: American Youth Slang" by Tom Dalzell (Merriam-Webster Inc., Springfield, Md., 1996)

Another variation: split, no-tomorrow style. Page 155. From "Straight from the Fridge, Dad: A Dictionary of Hipster Slang" by Max Décharné (Broadway Books, Random House, New York, 2000).

Another reference gives "split" a much earlier date: "split, 1787. This was again considered very modern slang in the 1940s and 1950s." Also, this reference has: "vamoose (Spanish) vamos, let's go), 1840s." Page 314. I Hear America Talking: An Illustrated History of American Words and Phrases by Stuart Berg Flexner (Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1976).

• Bug out ESC 23/April/04
  • Gone like a long dog ESC 23/April/04
    • I'm outta here.............. Ward 24/April/04
      • Bucket o' prawns SR 26/April/04