hop the twig
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Sense 1
Synonym of run away, (originally) especially from creditors.
Register: archaic, slang
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Sense 2
Synonym of play truant, to avoid or run away from school.
Register: archaic, slang
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Sense 3
to run away; also, a flippant expression meaning to die. Many similar phrases are used by the thoughtless and jocose, as "laying down one’s knife and fork," "pegging out," from the game of cribbage, and "snuffing it." A new form of this phraseology is to say that a man has "given up" or "given in."
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “hop the twig” mean?
Synonym of run away, (originally) especially from creditors.
Is “hop the twig” formal or informal?
hop the twig is generally archaic, slang.