get away with

Verb

get away with (third-person singular simple present gets away with, present participle getting away with, simple past got away with, past participle (UK) got away with or (US) gotten away with)

1. To get away, or escape, taking (something) with one.
   • The thieves got away with a million pounds' worth of jewellery.
2. (idiomatic) To escape punishment for doing something objectionable.
   • Do you think we could get away with taking Dad’s car?
   • Not many people have gotten away with stealing that much money.
3. (broadly, colloquial) To avoid the consequences of doing something by an easier method.
   • It's warm today, so you can probably get away with just wearing a short-sleeved shirt.
   • The vehicles resemble something out of Thunderbirds. They have to be squat, long and narrow to fit through the body of the TBM. They also have a cab at each end, as there's no getting away with a three-point turn in a tunnel!2022 March 23, Paul Bigland, “HS2 is just 'passing through'”, in RAIL, number 953, page 41