What is the basis of the phrase “23 skidoo”?
This is a good question. As per Wikipedia: 23 skidoo (sometimes 23 skiddoo) is an American slang phrase popularized in the early twentieth century, first appearing before World War I and becoming popular in the Roaring Twenties. It generally refers to leaving quickly, being forced to leave quickly by someone else or taking advantage of a propitious opportunity to leave, that is, “getting [out] while the getting’s good.” 23 skidoo has been described as “perhaps the first truly national fad expression and one of the most popular fad expressions to appear in the U.S,” to the extent that “Pennants and arm-bands at shore resorts, parks, and county fairs bore either or the word ‘Skiddoo.'” The exact origin of the phrase is uncertain. Other explanations: Cartoonist “TAD” (Thomas A. Dorgan) was credited in his obituary in The New York Times in 1929, as being the “First to say ‘Twenty-three, Skidoo.'” Another source says that baseball player Mike Donlin and comedian Tom Lewis created the expres
