to up and leave
- phrasal verb
- Informal
- She decided to up and leave her job without warning, shocking her coworkers.
- get up and leave
- pack up and leave
You may find that the narcissistic person may get up and leave the relationship, which is a win.
- You may find that the narcissistic person may get up and leave the relationship, which is a win.
- Or maybe the narcissistic person gets up and leaves.
- And I go, I promise I go if we were not done by two hours in, you just get up and leave.
- So they get up and leave when the third drinks poured.
- I put the phone down, drop the phone, get up and leave and, and get out.
Examples
-
I figured someone else was about to up and leave me.
Fiction book (2000) -
Or maybe she should pull herself together and get up and leave like everybody else.
Fiction book (1998) -
And if they want to up and leave, they could.
-
I decided to get up and leave and we both left.
-
Am I supposed to pick up and leave everything?
-
or they just up and leave
-
It's kind of hard to just pick up and leave.
-
So I up and left the pieces there.
-
"You cannot just up and leave after you have said such a terrible thing," she told him.
Fiction book (1993) -
And one day, the guy just disappeared, just up and left like without a trace.
Synonyms
Leave a place quickly or suddenly
Leave a person, place, or situation without taking part anymore
To leave a place quickly, often to travel somewhere else
To leave a place or person suddenly, often without saying goodbye
Leave suddenly to avoid a responsibility or task
To leave a place quickly or suddenly
Leave a place suddenly because you are angry or protesting
Leave a place suddenly, often to avoid someone or something
To leave a place suddenly to show you are angry or upset
To leave without telling anyone to avoid a duty or responsibility
To go away from a place, often suddenly or for good
To leave a place very quickly to escape danger or trouble
Leave a place or start a journey
Leave a place quickly, often in a rude way
To leave a place suddenly without permission
Leave a place quickly because you are angry
To leave a place suddenly and unexpectedly
Leave a place suddenly and quickly because you feel scared
To leave quickly to avoid trouble or questions
Leave a place quickly because you are in a hurry
To leave a place quickly because you do not want to be there
Leave a place very quickly
Going away from a place without telling or asking anyone
To leave a place quickly, often without saying goodbye
To run away quickly, usually because you are afraid
To leave a place suddenly, usually to go somewhere else
To walk out suddenly while showing anger
Leave a place where you are hiding suddenly to attack or surprise someone
Leave a place quickly because you are not welcome
Antonyms
How Sudden
- Informal
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
While 'leave' clearly means 'to depart', the prefixed sequence 'up and' functions as an idiomatic colloquial intensifier meaning 'suddenly/abruptly' rather than literal upward motion, so the full sense 'depart suddenly without warning' is not directly derivable from the literal meanings of 'up' + 'and' + 'leave'. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words might infer a general notion of leaving but would likely miss the abrupt/without-warning nuance; the 'up and V' pattern exists in English but its pragmatic force is not fully predictable.
Etymology
Up and leave comes from the simple image of someone suddenly standing up and then leaving the room. That's why it now means 'to depart suddenly and without warning'.