do a disappearing act

Idioms

Vanish, as in As soon as the teacher came outside, Mary did a disappearing act. This expression describes a sudden disappearance as if by magic and presumably alludes to a magician's performance. [Colloquial; early 1900s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I aim to win it back, and I don’t want to see it do a disappearing act before the day of the race.”

From Guilt of the Brass Thieves by Wirt, Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023