"23 skiddoo"

[Jewls2u]

I always thought "take a powder" meant "go powder your nose". Women leave
the table so the men can talk. If you are a man of no stature in the group,
then you take a powder with the women.

Julienne

-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
Of Fred Shapiro
Sent: Wednesday, October 02, 2002 8:43 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "23 skiddoo"


On Tue, 1 Oct 2002, Gerald Cohen wrote:

>     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.

I won't get back into criticizing people for blue-sky etymological
conjectures at this point, but let me ask Jerry, what is your evidence for
"taking a powder" originally referring to putting a poisonous powder in
one's drink?

Fred Shapiro


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