to get away with it
234
3.4
- phrasal verb
:
salirse con la suya
- He thought he could lie to his boss and get away with it, but eventually, he was found out.
- allow someone to get away with it
Some have gotten away with it, many have paid a price for it.
- Some have gotten away with it, many have paid a price for it.
- They felt like like there was strength in getting away with it.
- We let bullying world leaders get away with it.
- They shouldn't assume that they can't get away with it.
- You can't drive into somebody else's garden and get away with it.
- But he got away with it, Yes, for one reason.
- Like she could have killed us and got away with it and probably tried quite a few times.
- Maybe people like that, like people working for tax firms can get away with it.
- I don't deserve to get away with it, right?
- And the world's top scientists and the slobbering media let them get away with it.
- And of course, do not let her cheat on you and get away with it.
- So if you can't get away with it, you should.
- If it's secretly a pigeon, you can get away with it twice.
Examples
-
Whatever he's doing, he shouldn't get away with it.
-
He's a con man who got away with it for decades.
-
In short, Trump did not get away with it this time.
-
We let him get away with it.
-
Sometimes you get away with it.
-
What about the ones who do it and get away with it?
-
And I thought, if Mike could get away with it, maybe I could too.
Fiction book (1997) -
I knew I could hire the best lawyer around and get away with it, and I will.
Fiction book (1997) -
Some have gotten away with it, many have paid a price for it.
-
Well, I stole something and I got away with it.
Synonyms
786
4.1
To avoid being punished for something you did wrong
672
3.5
To escape punishment for doing something wrong
462
3.8
Avoid doing a task or taking blame you should accept
170
6.0
To avoid punishment for a crime or charge
75
3.5
To not punish someone or excuse them from a duty
20
3.9
Avoid being caught or punished for breaking rules
8
7.7
To hide a problem instead of dealing with it openly
2
7.0
Avoid a duty or problem by making excuses
1
6.5
Receive little or no punishment for a mistake
To avoid taking responsibility by lying or being vague
Antonyms
How Punished
234
3.4
170
6.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
get + away + with + it
The component 'get away' transparently suggests escaping or leaving, so a learner who knows those words may guess the general idea of escape. However, the addition of 'with it' encodes the specific sense of escaping blame or punishment in an idiomatic way that is not fully predictable from the literal parts, so the overall phrase is only partly compositional.
Etymology
Get away with it comes from a clear image: someone does something wrong and gets away running off with it, so no one catches them. That's why it means 'to escape blame or punishment'.