did a runner

Verb

do a runner (third-person singular simple present does a runner, present participle doing a runner, simple past did a runner, past participle done a runner)

1. (UK, informal) To leave somewhere hurriedly, especially to avoid paying.
   • A fortnight ago, in his “Money talks” column, Patrick Collinson related how, at an airport restaurant earlier this month, he was told by a waiter that they had to pick up the tab if a customer did a runner. Yet the company in charge vehemently denied the account, saying: “This does not take place.”2018 March 24, “True or false? 'If you do a runner, the waiter has to pay your bill'”, in The Guardian, →ISSN