slither away

slither away

1. To twist and undulate the body to propel the body away (from someone or something). I managed to swipe the snake with the broom, sending it across the yard where it promptly slithered away. There's tripwire laid over the entire field, so we'll have to slither away if we want to remain undetected.
2. To walk away (from someone or something) in a sliding motion, especially in a manner that makes others feel uneasy or distrustful. I curtly told the salesman I didn't need any assistance, and I smiled wryly to myself as I watched him slither away to a different customer. I just kept ignoring the sleazebag at the bar until he eventually slithered away.
See also: away, slither
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

slither away

to sneak or crawl away, like a snake. The little lizards slithered away soundlessly. The snake slithered away while Maggie was still screaming.
See also: away, slither
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • slither over
  • slither
  • slither along
  • arrive (some place) in a body
  • reach (some place) in a body
  • body check
  • pick (something) clean
  • pick something clean
  • in a body
  • lie in state
References in periodicals archive
The Blades let a commanding three-goal lead slither away late on in a pulsating 3-3 draw at Villa Park.
The BJP python is too big to slide and slither away. The end is near."
It can be tricky to assess the timbre of an unusual crisis situations like this, but we believe this New York Times editor proved their savvy by managing to slither away in such style.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his Nepali Congress were supposed to slither away in utter electoral humiliation once the scale of the leftist alliance's dominance in the first-past-the-post category became apparent.
When she tried to slither away, Affleck made fun of mentally disabled people.
Lest any among us come to the conclusion, however welcome, that manologuers are about to give up and slither away to practise sitting properly with their legs politely together on buses, may I point out that they comprise an ever vigilant bunch, ever ready to pounce and to pontificate.
If the snakes have warning, they will slither away and not bother you.
They just slither away at the approach of the scented bushman.
The whole curled pink blob looked like it might still be alive, like it could uncurl itself, pop open the lid, and slither away. Two other brains, and several smaller labeled jars containing livers, kidneys, and a pancreas, sat beside it on the dusty steel shelf.
As I kept the light trained on our visitor, he decided that he needed to retire, and tried to slither away. I grasped him behind the neck, extracted him from the insulation, and did my own snake imitation by slithering out of the cabinet opening.
At times the garble is but a slither away from being sinister - evidence of peer pressure and talk of family, responsibilities, and the feeling that anything less than a private life is nothing more than a public faade.
He even identified the potentially deadly snake's sex from its size and distinctive brown zig-zag markings as it began to slither away.
However nightmares about a future that involves sucking toothlessly on pipes and pondering on whether or not to invest in new slippers soon slither away on realising that whole new horizons are about to beckon.
RESILIENT Stockingford lifted the Evening Telegraph Junior Cup as luckless Peugeot saw their hopes slither away in extra-time at rain swept Marconi last night.
But, in their place, raspberries, blackberries and wild cherries sprang forth, along with snakes who would sun themselves and slither away at our approach.