When I was a kid, we used to say “let’s book” or “he booked,” meaning to leave somewhere quickly. I had forgotten all about this, except I just read it somewhere. Does anyone know where the phrase came from?
I don’t know where it came from, but when I was in grade school and we were going over verbs/nouns/adjectives etc, the teacher told us all to write down a verb, then we all read ours out loud one at a time. I thought of exactly what you said and wrote book. I felt stupid when I realized that, while I DID know what a verb was, no one else was going to except ‘book’ as one.
Or perhaps everyone else would “except” it by refusing to accept it.
Isn’t it a standard police term now?
“Book’im, Lou!”
But that has nothing to do with running, that means take them down to the station and get all their info. (put them on the books).
Probably comes from an old blues song. Sweet Home Chicago.
One and one is two
Two and two is fo’
something, something, something
I’m booked, I gotta go.
And then, there’s the sense of ‘book’ that is generally synonymous with ‘reserve’ - “They booked me on the redeye to San Diego”, etc.
I’m not sure if this is the actual origin, but the OED, has a phrase “to book out” or “to book off” meaning “to leave”:
One could see how “Let’s book out” could be shortened to “Let’s book,” but it’s not conclusive.
Just guessing: Comes from Bug out? Then got mispronouced a lot. maybe?
oh, and bug out came from watching bugs scurry away.
damn, gotta quit just guessing.
I seem to recall hearing people saying ‘book in’ and ‘book out’ of a hotel, probably the british equivalent of ‘check in’, ‘check out’. Presumably the ‘book’ in question is the guest register.
Now, how that britishism would make it across the Atlantic to American teenagers - I blame it on pop music.