hookey

play hooky

To absent oneself or leave early from school or work when one would normally be required to be there. Primarily heard in US. I was so restless and bored at work that I decided to play hooky after lunch. Hey, Jim and I are playing hooky from school on Friday, do you want to come with us? That's the last time you play hooky, mister! From now on, I'm dropping you off at school every morning!
See also: play
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

play hooky

to fail to attend school or some other event. Why aren't you in school? Are you playing hooky? I don't have time for the sales meeting today, so I think I'll just play hooky.
See also: play
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

play hooky

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]
See also: play
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

play hookey

stay away from school without permission or explanation; play truant. North American informal
See also: hookey, play
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

play hooky

(...ˈhʊki)
tv. to not go to school; to not keep an appointment. I played hooky today and did not go to work.
See also: play
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • oneself
  • wash (one's) hands of (someone or something)
  • wash hands of
  • wash one's hands of
  • wash your hands of
  • wash your hands of somebody/something
  • wash your hands of something/someone
  • for (one's) (own) sake
  • for sake
  • keep sight of somebody/something
References in periodicals archive
HAD he not been riding racehorses, Walsh would have enjoyed a nice sing-song with The Hookeys, but by riding racehorses he landed the Pendil Novices' Chase on The Nightingale and the Dovecote Hurdle on Escort'men.
Another gem unearthed by super Twister and his partner in crime; YESTERDAY AT KEMPTON
Thanks to Gordon Hookey for allowing us to publish his artwork as part of this issue.
Regimes of terror: contesting the war on terror
Robert plays hookey from school to get stoned with recently expelled thug Joe (Ryan Winsley) and sweet-natured but easily led Ben (Charles Mnene).
The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael
``I used to play hookey from school and sneak into shows.
Arts: Getting to know The King And I once more
26-31.12.2004: International Spengler Cup': ice hookey tournament
What's on this month
But eagle-eyed bosses keen to maintain productivity and profit margins are fighting back on the employees who play hookey on company time.
Keeping an eye on mobile workers
There has not been any public outrage about Vernon Ah Kee's text-based work ('Non People', Bellas Gallery, Brisbane 2002) nor about some of Hookey's scathing 'Ruddock's Wheel' series (Pacific Wave, Casula Powerhouse, Sydney 200l).
When is Aboriginal Aboriginal too much? (Not a hump but a historical speed bump)
Other suggestions as to the origin of hoagie include: hoke sandwich, favored by hoboes who were on the hoke; a reference to the pork or hog meat in the sandwich; honky sandwich, called that by blacks who saw whites eating them; and hookey sandwich, favored by kids skipping school who would buy them from sidewalk vendors.
A hoagie by any other name
BROOKSIDE (S4C) Tim and Steve are frustrated they can't spend their cash,and have to accept a removal job from Hookey to keep up appearances -but romance blossoms when the former meets someone while on the job.
SOAPBOX ... Week beginning Monday,August 4
(43) In 1984, a prescient piece by Hookey (44) critically examined the approach of the plaintiffs in Coe v Commonwealth (45) and suggested that there was support for the non-conventional view.
A hope disillusioned, an opportunity lost? Reflections on common law native title and ten years of the Native Title Act
He was scheduled to pitch in Chicago, so my son played hookey from school and I did the same from work.
The fans speak out. (Letters to the editor)
I would especially like to hear from Gillian Roberts, Sylvia Else, Janet Peacock, Janet Gilbert, the Hookey sisters, Janet Eyre, Elsie Walker, Myrtle Pridmore, Hilary Chant, Jacqueline Noon and Iris Hall whom I remember from the mid-1950s.
Living Books: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? On track of old friends
(14.) As Hookey has pointed out, the courts raised doubts as far back as 1836 over whether New Holland had been peacefully settled or conquered, and what this entailed for the legal status of the Indigenous inhabitants.
'Aboriginal welfare' and the denial of indigenous sovereignty
In the twentieth century, hookey cops swept up "ne'er-do-wells" and placed them in school.
Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms
Spending a school day at the cinema may seem like playing hookey, but it is what thousands of pupils and students will be doing from tomorrow.
Hard week's work at the cinema; Alison Jones on the National Schools (free) Film Week