scarper
pronunciation
How to pronounce scarper in British English:
UK [ˈskɑ:pə(r)]
How to pronounce scarper in American English:
US [ˈskɑrpə(r)]
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- Verb:
- flee; take to one's heels; cut and run
Word Origin
- scarper
- scarper: [19] Scarper entered English in the mid- 19th century by way of the underworld slang of criminals, who probably got it from Italian scappare ‘get away’ (a relative of English escape). It remained a subcultural vocabulary item until the early years of the 20th century, and its rise in prominence then may have been partly due to the coincidental Cockney rhyming slang use of Scapa Flow (the name of a naval anchorage in the Orkney Islands) for ‘go’. Indeed, from the 1930s onwards scarper has often been spelled scarpa or even scapa.
Example
- 1. The police are coming ! We 'd better scarper .
- 2. And some investors fear that were these traders to scarper , or be shut down for not paying taxes , sino forest would not have buyers for its trees .