Twenty Three Skidoo

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While multiple and widely divergent theories abound as to the origin of the now mostly archaic phrase "23-skidoo!", none has proven definitive. It is attested in the press that the expression arose around the turn of the 20th century and originally meant to leave suddenly, make haste, or more colloquially to "take a hike!" The "skidoo" element is generally seen as a variant of the word "skedaddle," itself related to scatter or scuttle. The association with the number twenty-three is as old as the skidoo element itself, but the exact connection is obscure.