to take a powder
4
9.9
- phrasal verb
- Archaic
:
escaparse
- Go home, take a powder, buddy.
Examples
-
You're really gonna take a powder on us?
-
Then I'm afraid you'll have to take a powder.
-
We're going to take a powder.
-
Why did you take a powder like that?
-
I mean, okay, the guy may be dead, or he took a powder, and he'll never show up.
Fiction book (1997) -
No wonder Henry had taken a powder.
Fiction book (2000) -
Why don't you boys take a powder?
-
Hey, is that the little lady who's gonna take a powder?
-
We should take a powder before the situation gets worse.
-
Feeling overwhelmed, she decided to take a powder and clear her mind.
Synonyms
147
3.7
To leave a place quickly and secretly to avoid trouble
125
3.7
To leave a place quietly so no one notices you
39
3.8
To leave a place quietly without anyone noticing
33
4.0
Leave a place quietly so others do not notice
32
3.4
To leave a place quietly without anyone noticing
28
8.1
Leave a place suddenly and secretly to avoid trouble or debt
17
3.6
To leave a place quietly without being noticed
12
7.2
To leave a place quickly and quietly to avoid something you should do
11
8.5
To leave quickly and secretly with money or things to avoid being caught
4
6.3
To leave a meeting or party quietly so no one notices
To leave quickly to avoid trouble or attention
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
take + a + powder
The literal constituents 'take' + 'a' + 'powder' suggest removing or handling a substance, which does not map onto the idiomatic sense 'leave suddenly.' This is a language-specific slang/idiom whose meaning cannot be compositionally derived from its parts, so a B1 learner knowing the words would not reliably predict the idiomatic sense.
Etymology
Take a powder comes from an image of someone running off and disappearing in a cloud of dust. One popular story says to take the powder meant to vanish into that dust to 'leave suddenly' and avoid trouble, so the phrase now means 'to disappear quickly without telling anyone'.