hightail

English

WOTD – 7 July 2008

Etymology

From high +‎ tail; refers to the behavior of fleeing animals, such as deer, that raise their tail when running away.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaɪ.teɪl/

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Verb

hightail (third-person singular simple present hightails, present participle hightailing, simple past and past participle hightailed)

1. (informal, chiefly Canada, US, usually transitive) To move at full speed, especially in retreat.

   Synonyms: skedaddle; see also Thesaurus:move quickly

   He hightailed it toward town.

   I want you to hightail your butt out of there before they come back.

   • 2008, Dave Klein, The Game of Their Lives: The 1958 NFL Championship, page 217:

     When I saw he had scored, I just hightailed out of there, because all those people started running down on the field and that's a lot more dangerous than playing.

Derived terms

• hightail it

Translations

to move at full speed, especially in retreat

• German: abrauschen, flüchten (de)