duck out

duck out idiom
Leave hurriedly or secretly; evade responsibility. For example, If I can I'll duck out of the office early, or He simply ducked out on his entire family. This slangy expression originated in the late 1800s simply as duck, out being added about 1930.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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