What is the origin of the expression “twentythree skidoo” ?
Wentworth and Flexner describe it as “perhaps the first truly national fad expression and one of the most popular fad expressions to appear in the U.S.” They say “Pennants and arm-bands at shore resorts, parks, and county fairs bore either [23] or the word ‘Skiddoo.'” There are several stories suggesting the origin of the phrase, none that have been universally accepted. Cartoonist “TAD” (Thomas A. Dorgan) is credited by The New York Times in his obituary as “First to say ‘Twenty-three, Skidoo.'”One source says that baseball player Mike Donlin and comedian Tom Lewis created the expression as part of their vaudeville act. Another source of the term has been rumored to come from the area around the Flat Iron building on 23rd street in NYC. Apparently, winds would swirl around the building and in the roaring 20’s groups of men would gather to watch women walk by with their skirts being blown up by the winds. The police would then ask the men to break-it-up and leave… hence the term 23 s
