hightail it

1. Go as fast as possible, especially in leaving; rush off. For example, With the police now searching for them, they hightailed it out of town, or When Jane remembered it was his birthday, she hightailed it to the bakery for a cake. This expression alludes to the raised tail of a rabbit or other animal that is fleeing. [Colloquial; late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Roughly midway through, Pynchon’s characters hightail it all the way to proto-fascist Budapest, where shadows more lethal than any Tommy gun begin to encroach.

From Los Angeles Times

She reached the 14,500-foot summit at 7:45 a.m. and, after snapping a few photos, hightailed it down.

From Los Angeles Times

McCartney happened to be visiting Lennon in New York at the time and they briefly considered shocking the world by hightailing it down to Rockefeller Center, but the idea was abandoned.

From Los Angeles Times

Set on exacting retribution, Doll hightails it back to his home in Los Angeles to even the score with the real murderer and the cartel’s bagman, all while keeping nominally true to Buddhist principles.

From Los Angeles Times

In most cases, drivers might hightail it out of there.

From Los Angeles Times