Home Uncategorized The saying ’23 skidoo’ meaning and origin

The saying ’23 skidoo’ meaning and origin

written by Barry and Joyce Vissell March 11, 2020

To the initiated it is used with effect in a jocular manner. Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the https://cryptolisting.org/ creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers.

  1. Apparently, when
    the workers sat on the sidewalk to eat their lunches, they would watch women’s
    skirts blow up from the sudden gusts.
  2. The phrase quickly became a ubiquitous catchphrase, and Google Books has many examples of commercial advertisements using “23-Skidoo” that begin in 1906.
  3. An overview showing the statistics of 23 Skidoo, such as the base and quote currency, the rank, and trading volume.
  4. Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website.

The mining town of Skidoo had 23 saloons and if you were going to go get
drunk you would try to get a drink at each of the saloons. This started the phrase
of going 23 skidoo if you were going to have a good time. For some time past there has been going the rounds of the men about town the slang phrase “Twenty-three.” The meaning attached to it is to “move on,” “get out,” “good-bye, glad you are gone,” “your move” and so on.

Skidoo Links

He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms. Webster’s New World Dictionary derives skiddoo (with two d’s) as probably from skedaddle, meaning “to leave”, with an imperative sense. It has only significance to local men and is not in vogue elsewhere. Such expressions often obtain a national use, as instanced by “rats!” “cheese it,” etc., which were once in use throughout 23 skidoo coin the length and breadth of the land. The phrase quickly became a ubiquitous catchphrase, and Google Books has many examples of commercial advertisements using “23-Skidoo” that begin in 1906. For example, the edition of The Shoe Retailer for August 4, 1906, volume 59, No. 5 (Boston, MA), has a full-page ad for a “23-Skidoo” sale,[22] with blurbs such as “23-Skidoo/Says Low Price to the Shoe/Now It’s Up to You”.

Flatiron Building

‘Skiddoo’ is another slang term, also originating around the same time and place, meaning much the same as ‘skedaddle’, that is, ‘leave’, ‘depart’, ‘get out of here’. 23 skidoo (sometimes 23 skiddoo) is an American slang phrase generally referring to leaving quickly, being forced to leave quickly by someone else, or taking advantage of a propitious opportunity to leave. Popularized during the early 20th century, the exact origin of the phrase is uncertain. 23-skidoo came from an expression that construction workers
used while building the Flatiron Building on 23rd Street in N.Y.C. 23rd Street
is one of the wider streets in New York that is like an uninterrupted wind-tunnel
between the East and Hudson Rivers.

The meaning and origin of the expression: 23 skidoo

Frequently, when one is walking north or south
on the avenues and comes to such an intersection, they can experience a sudden
blast of wind as soon as the pass the wall of a corner building. Apparently, when
the workers sat on the sidewalk to eat their lunches, they would watch women’s
skirts blow up from the sudden gusts. In Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities, Sidney Carton is
No. 23 of a multitude executed by the guillotine. An overview showing the statistics of 23 Skidoo, such as the base and quote currency, the rank, and trading volume. The phrase originated in the Panimint Mountains in Death Valley in the early
1900s.

There are numerous competing theories; which is a sure sign of doubt. It seems that ’23’ originated as a fad term in the USA in the early 20th century. In fact it hasn’t travelled much outside the USA since then.

Related Articles

Log In

Lost Password

Register

The first step to becoming a member of the RD&T Community and the beginning of your personal Journey to Ultimate Success:

Join Now

Click the button below to register for a free membership and have access to unlimited articles.