play hooky

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

Annie and I told our parents we were going to school today, but we played hooky instead.

Read more on Literature

Supposedly playing hooky from filming a movie, he visits the walrus diorama at the Natural History Museum.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He works hard to please but likes his breaks and sometimes plays hooky.

Read more on Seattle Times

Sunday’s show wasn’t the first time the Boss personally signed off on his fans playing hooky.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They worked or played hooky, they hid or revealed their feelings, they participated or declined to participate in the war to come.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• avoid 
• depart 
• disappear 
• dodge 
• elude 
• emerge 
• evade 
• flee 
• fly 
• leave 
• run 
• slip 
• slip away www.thesaurus.com
• vanish