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What does 'to play hooky' mean?
What does hooky mean in slang?
What is an example of a hooky person?
Where did the term 'play hooky' come from?
Apr 9, 2015 · hooky, hookey (n.) is part of an idiom, to play hooky, which means "to be truant, to hook {escape} school." Its plurals are hookeys or hookies, and neither is much used. Hooky was once slang, but it has lasted so well that it is now Standard in its idiom.
- Dictionary discussions of 'hookey' John Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms (1848) has entries for "hookey" and for a term that I suspect may be...
- UPDATE: @Old-School's answer sounds the most plausible (and most interesting), so I've marked it as the accepted answer. Since the phrase has been...
- I was told by my grandparents that at one time the Amish were called "Hookies". This was because they wore "hook and eye" closures instead of zipp...
- My father, born in 1914 in Ohio and lived in and around Detroit had told me that playing hooky was in reference to kids not going to school and g...
Dec 3, 2023 · Play hooky" means to skip school, work, or another obligation secretly and without a good reason. People use this phrase when someone avoids these responsibilities for leisure or fun. It often implies a sneaky or rebellious act but in a light-hearted way. Some words with a similar meaning are "skip," "bunk off," and "ditch."
The expression 'to play hooky (or hookey),' meaning 'to skip school,' has been around since the 19th century. John Bartlett in his 1848 Dictionary of 'Frosh', 'cute', and 7 other words created at school
When you play hooky, you take the day off from what you're supposed to be doing. A man who goes to the beach instead of to his job at a bank decides to play hooky. The classic example of someone who plays hooky is a kid who skips school, or is truant.
Aug 24, 2022 · To play hooky may also be a variation of the older expression ‘hook it,’ meaning ‘to escape or make off.’. Or it could be related to the old slang word ‘hook,’ meaning ‘to steal,’...
- Jim Loboy
Jan 18, 2021 · To play hookey, is to play truant. A term used among schoolboys. A use from an 1856 issue of Mother’s Magazine gives a slightly different definition of playing hooky, that is not coming directly home after school and instead getting into mischief.
Be absent from school or some other obligation without permission, as in It was such a beautiful day that Herb played hooky from work . In this term, the noun hooky may have come from the phrase hook it , meaning “escape.” [Mid-1800s]
