take a powder

1. To make a quick departure: “When he saw the police coming, the thief decided to take a powder.”

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

Burned: I assume that at this point you’re relieved he took a powder.

From Washington Post

At eight o’clock in the evening he will eat some miserable rubbish they get in exchange for their food tickets, then he will take a powder for his headache and work on.

From Literature

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wants to run for president in 2020, but her hometown newspaper thinks maybe she just oughta take a powder.

From Washington Times

“He took a powder in the bathroom and left, and allowed Maine to decide West Virginia’s vote,” Mr. Morrisey said of his Democratic opponent.

From Washington Times

When his casinos went belly-up, Trump vodka took a powder, Trump steaks sat in their freezers and his investments in buildings like the Plaza Hotel failed to make money, Trump turned to the banks.

From Salon

Related Words

• avoid
• depart
• disappear
• dodge
• elude
• emerge
• evade
• flee
• fly
• leave
• run
• slip
• slip away
• vanish