Meaning
A brisk command to leave, or a hurried departure. Strongly dated; now humorous or deliberately old-fashioned Regional use: United States.
Origin
American slang from the opening years of the 20th century. The command twenty-three and the verb skidoo already meant to leave before they were combined in print by 1906. Skidoo is probably related to skedaddle; the source of twenty-three is uncertain, although an old confidence-game explanation is plausible. The familiar Flatiron Building story cannot be the origin because twenty-three had the relevant sense before that building opened.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- 23 skidoo
- skidoo
- twenty-three, skidoo
Usage Examples
- When the owner reached for the telephone, the card players decided it was twenty-three skidoo.
- The old poster promises low prices while telling last season's stock to twenty-three skidoo.