Word.ws English Dictionary

23 skidoo

/ˌtwɛnti ˌθɹiː skɪˈduː/

23 skidoo phrase: to leave, particularly quickly or at an advantageous time.

Phrase

23 skidoo

  1. (US, archaic, idiomatic) To leave, particularly quickly or at an advantageous time.
    • ... the 'varsity quarter, who at the close of each meeting discards the conventional "I move we adjourn, sir,'" for the more modern "23, skidoo."1908, George Washington University student publication, The Cherry tree: published by the students at George Washington university, page 348
    • I can imagine nothing more shocking than to hear some one use a slang expression current ten years ago, such as ‘23 skidoo’ or ‘you’re off your base.’1928, Henry Robinson Luce, Time, volume 11
  2. (US, archaic, idiomatic) To be forced to leave quickly.
    Synonyms:
    get rid of
  3. (US, archaic, idiomatic) A nonsense word.

Synonyms of 23 skidoo

Origin of 23 skidoo

From twenty-three (“get lost; get out; leave”) + skidoo (“to depart, especially quickly”). Exact origin unknown; many theories exist, though none have been universally accepted. See the Wikipedia article for more information.

Questions about 23 skidoo

What does 23 skidoo mean?
23 skidoo means to leave, particularly quickly or at an advantageous time.
What part of speech is 23 skidoo?
23 skidoo is a phrase.
How do you pronounce 23 skidoo?
23 skidoo is pronounced /ˌtwɛnti ˌθɹiː skɪˈduː/.

Words near 23 skidoo in the dictionary

  1. 22nd
  2. 22q13 deletion syndrome
  3. 22s
  4. 22° halo
  5. 23 August
  6. 23 skidoo
  7. 23 Skidoo Street
  8. 23-gon
  9. 23-gons
  10. 23d
  11. 23rd

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: 23 skidoo (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-23 skidoo.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-23 skidoo.wav.

Cite this entry: “23 skidoo.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/23_skidoo. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.