23 skidoo!!!

long weekend style has always wondered what exactly is meant by the saying "23 skidoo".

i first saw the phrase "23 skidoo" as it appears in an f. scott fitzgerald story. apparently, it just sends the old ladies into a complete tizzy when some modern young flapper throws down the term.

thank goodness, we've arrived at the digital age, as the actual webster's dictionary that i possessed at the time, did not list 23 skidoo or it's meaning. which brings us to wikipedia, the online "source" that can define just about anything you type in it's search window.

upon further research and with the help of the ever trusty wikipedia, the mystery of "23 skidoo" can go into the solved files and is defined as:
-having to leave quickly
-being made to leave quickly by someone else
-leaving quickly due to fortuitous opportunity, ie: getting out while the going/the getting is good.

basically, get lost. scram. vamoose. but delivered with more of swagger of a truck driver than damsel.

although the origin and creator of the phrase is unknown, "23 skidoo" does have the distinction of being the first ever american catchphrase of the roaring 20's - a time of the charleston, flappers, bathtub gin, bobbed hair, rouged cheeks and speakeasies. and apparently, colorful language enough to induce a heart attack in the elderly. in the 1920's.