"23 skiddoo"

[Gerald Cohen]

    I always associated "23" (= scram, go away) with the twenty-third
psalm, recited so often at funerals; the number connected with
departing from this world may have become generic for rapid departure.

    Cf. "take a powder" (scram, leave), originally referring to
putting a poisonous powder in one's drink. Death-wishes have provided
at least one expression for slang "scram," perhaps more.

Gerald Cohen


>At 5:50 PM -0400 10/1/02, George Thompson wrote:
>What is the present state of play regarding the origin of "23
>skidoo"? It appears that the story is buried in the pre-1999
>archives, at the moment unavailable.  Does anyone remember?  Well,
>Barry does, of course.
>
>There is a 100th anniversary display on the Flatiron building
>currently up at the N-Y Historical Society, and this has prompted an
>article in yesterday's NY Times (September 30), which included the
>following:
>"The building of the Flatiron was such a prolonged affair that
>historians still debate exactly when it opened. For doubters, Ms.
>Berman has a picture of the Flatiron sporting two signs announcing
>the building ready for occupancy Oct. 1, 1902.
>"There is also all that lore about the phrase "23 skiddoo,"
>attributed to the fierce Flatiron winds that raised skirts and
>attracted the interest of passing gentlemen. Police officers there
>kept the gawkers moving along by saying "23 skiddoo," the equivalent
>of "scram."
>"Evidence to support this windy legend includes Library of Congress
>film footage from 1903 that shows Flatiron gusts, billowing skirts,
>male sidewalk superintendents and a flatfoot on the Flatiron beat."
>
>The Ms. Berman quoted is the author of a recent history of Madison
>Square and perhaps the curator of the N-YHS's exhibit.
>