scarper
/ˈskɑɹpəɹ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.55 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
Chiefly in scarper the letty: to depart quickly or run away from (a place); to flee.
British usage; Dated; Slang; Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "We were in debt with the landlady, and Joe and I had decided that none of us should be allowed to "scarper the letty," which means to sneak out of the lodgings without paying. The good lady might have to wait for her money—that was obvious—but we were stuck in Manchester until we could pay and get enough together to take us to a fresh district."
- "jean: We can't all spend our time nailing our suitcases to the floor, and shin out of the window. / archie: Scarper the letty."
- "A horse takes fright and "scarpers," or runs away."
- ""Dowse the glims!" said he. Out went the lights, as he continued, "That sneak Whiskers have just blown the gaff to old Slow-Coach, and he'll be here in two two's to give you beans—so scarper, laddies—scarper!" Suiting the action to the word, he "scarpered" through the window into the garden, […]"
- "Now then, boys, scarpa!"
- "Just then a pair of guards on the beat came into view. The tramps scarpered, the street-traders pushing prams scarpered, half of Dublin scarpered as if they all had something to hide."
Etymology
The verb is probably borrowed from Italian scappare (“to run away, escape, flee”), from Vulgar Latin *excappāre (“to escape”), from Latin ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + cappa (“(Late Latin) cape, cloak (usually with a hood); (Medieval Latin) cap; headwear”) (further etymology uncertain, probably ultimately from caput (“head”), from dialectal Proto-Indo-European *káput (“head”)) + -āre (the present active infinitive of -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)). Around World War I (1914–1918), the English word was influenced by the Cockney rhyming slang term Scapa Flow (“to go”). Doublet of escape and scape. The noun is derived from the verb.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈskɑɹpəɹ/
- British English: /ˈskɑːpə/
Usage
- British usage
- Dated
- Slang
- Transitive verb
- Intransitive verb