to leave for two pins
- idiom
- UK
:
irse en un abrir y cerrar de ojos
- If they offered him a better job, he would leave for two pins!
Examples
-
She said she would leave for two pins if the conditions didn't improve.
-
He would leave for two pins if he had the chance.
-
After the argument, I’d leave for two pins if I had somewhere else to go.
-
Sometimes, I feel like I could leave for two pins when things get tough.
-
After the argument, I'd leave for two pins if I had somewhere else to go.
-
She said she would leave for two pins if the conditions didn't improve.
-
Sometimes, I feel like I could leave for two pins when things get tough.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Leave a place or situation
∞
1.0
Leave a place to do a task, for example to help people
709
1.0
To leave a place or person and go somewhere else
632
3.5
Leave a person, place, or situation without taking part anymore
273
3.2
To leave a place quickly, often to travel somewhere else
247
7.1
Leave suddenly to avoid a responsibility or task
176
1.3
To leave a place to start a journey
167
2.5
To leave a place to start a trip
164
3.1
To leave a meeting or event suddenly to show you disagree
156
9.9
To leave a place quickly, often suddenly
112
3.4
Leave a place suddenly because you are angry or protesting
78
2.0
Leave a place suddenly, often to avoid someone or something
41
6.3
Go away suddenly without warning or explanation
37
3.5
To leave a place suddenly to show you are angry or upset
37
8.1
Tell someone to leave in a rude way
14
6.8
Leave a place or start a journey
14
2.5
To leave one place to go to another place
12
7.7
Leave a place quickly, often in a rude way
12
7.9
To leave a place suddenly without permission
5
4.9
Leave a place suddenly and quickly because you feel scared
5
3.9
Say goodbye to people and go away from a place politely
2
2.5
Leave a place quickly because you are in a hurry
1
9.9
To leave a place quickly because you do not want to be there
1
7.7
To say goodbye and leave politely
To leave a place suddenly, usually to go somewhere else
Leave a place quickly because you are not welcome
Antonyms
How Willing
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'leave', 'for' and 'two' are transparent, the critical element 'pin' here is dialectal slang for 'leg' and the construction 'for two pins' is idiomatic; a B1 learner who knows the individual words would not reliably infer the sense 'ready to leave at the slightest provocation'. The phrase is regional and non-compositional rather than following a common cross-linguistic pattern, so its meaning is unpredictable from the parts.
Etymology
Leave for two pins may come from an old image of a person willing to leave for something as small as two pins. One popular story says this picture shows someone who will go away for the tiniest reason, so it now means 'to be very willing or ready to leave'.