take French leave
/ˌteɪk fɹɛnt͡ʃ ˈliv/
UK: /ˌteɪk fɹɛnt͡ʃ ˈliːv/
take French leave
English
Verb
Ad
Definition
To leave quietly and unnoticed, without asking for permission or informing anyone; to slip out.
Etymology
From take + French leave, apparently from a French custom, already recorded in the 18th century, of leaving from receptions or other events without formally announcing one’s departure to the host or hostess.
Example Sentences
- "As for Ditton, after all his courting, and his compliment, he ſtole avvay an Iriſhman's bride, and took a French leave of me and his maſter; […]"
- "Thus through the vveary vvatch of ſleepleſs night, / This learned ploughman plods in piteous plight; / Till the dim taper takes French leave to doze, / And the fat folio tumbles on his toes."
- "What, Master Peveril, is this your foreign breeding? or have you learned in France to take French leave of your friends?"
Ad