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Synonyms

play hooky

Idioms  
  1. Be absent from school or some other obligation without permission, as in It was such a beautiful day that Herb played hooky from work. In this term, the noun hooky may have come from the phrase hook it, meaning “escape.” [Mid-1800s]


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.

Asked how it felt to suddenly become a Drifter, Mr. Thomas told Mr. Goldberg: “As a kid, I used to play hooky to see the Drifters at the Apollo. It felt good!”

From New York Times • Feb. 6, 2023

"He would play hooky… and tan aggressively. He looked like a Versace bag."

From Fox News • Sep. 28, 2021

Raketty started reading SGN as a high schooler, when she’d play hooky to hang out with her boyfriend on Capitol Hill.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 26, 2021

For many contemporary writers of fiction, The Novel looms balefully, a rigid school from which we should all be desperate to play hooky.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 3, 2016

“But a good day to play hooky, I suppose. Hey, look, that’s what I’m doing.”

From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin