"scarper" meaning in English

See scarper in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

IPA: /ˈskɑː.pə/ [Received-Pronunciation] Audio: En-au-scarper.ogg [Australia] Forms: scarpers [present, singular, third-person], scarpering [participle, present], scarpered [participle, past], scarpered [past]
Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)pə(ɹ) Etymology: Probably from Italian scappare (“to run away”), influenced by Cockney rhyming slang Scapa Flow = go. * In the chapter "Punch Talk" of 1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, Vol 3, the author discusses the slang language used by travelling Italian Punch and Judy men and entertainers, which had English, Italian, Jewish and traveller roots. He states that "scarper" is Punch Talk for "to get away quickly" (from the police or other authority) and derives from the Italian scappare or escappare (compare English escape). * An alternative etymology traces the word "scarper" to the Cockney rhyming slang Scapa Flow (“go”) (as in, e.g., "go away"). Etymology templates: {{bor|en|it|scappare||to run away}} Italian scappare (“to run away”), {{m|en|go}} go, {{cog|it|scappare}} Italian scappare, {{m|it|escappare}} escappare, {{cog|en|escape}} English escape, {{m|en|Scapa Flow||go}} Scapa Flow (“go”) Head templates: {{en-verb}} scarper (third-person singular simple present scarpers, present participle scarpering, simple past and past participle scarpered)
  1. (British, slang) To run away; to flee; to escape. Tags: British, slang Translations (to run away; to flee; to escape): офейквам (ofejkvam) (Bulgarian), stikke af (Danish), сматываться (smatyvatʹsja) (Russian)
    Sense id: en-scarper-en-verb-qY0zjBAY Categories (other): British English, English entries with incorrect language header

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for scarper meaning in English (4.2kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "scappare",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to run away"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian scappare (“to run away”)",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "go"
      },
      "expansion": "go",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "it",
        "2": "scappare"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian scappare",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "it",
        "2": "escappare"
      },
      "expansion": "escappare",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "escape"
      },
      "expansion": "English escape",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Scapa Flow",
        "3": "",
        "4": "go"
      },
      "expansion": "Scapa Flow (“go”)",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Probably from Italian scappare (“to run away”), influenced by Cockney rhyming slang Scapa Flow = go.\n* In the chapter \"Punch Talk\" of 1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, Vol 3, the author discusses the slang language used by travelling Italian Punch and Judy men and entertainers, which had English, Italian, Jewish and traveller roots. He states that \"scarper\" is Punch Talk for \"to get away quickly\" (from the police or other authority) and derives from the Italian scappare or escappare (compare English escape).\n* An alternative etymology traces the word \"scarper\" to the Cockney rhyming slang Scapa Flow (“go”) (as in, e.g., \"go away\").",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "scarpers",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "scarpering",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "scarpered",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "scarpered",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "scarper (third-person singular simple present scarpers, present participle scarpering, simple past and past participle scarpered)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1904, John Coleman, Fifty years of an actors̓ life, volume 1, page 54",
          "text": "Out went the lights, as he continued, \"That sneak Whiskers have just blown the gaff to old Slow-Coach, and he'll be here in two two's to give you beans — so scarper, laddies — scarper!\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2001, Ardal O'Hanlon, Knick Knack Paddy Whack, page 7",
          "text": "The tramps scarpered, the street-traders pushing prams scarpered, half of Dublin scarpered as if they all had something to hide.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, The Guardian",
          "text": "Helm writes: 'As if she were some street criminal, ready to scarper, Ruth's home was swooped upon by [Assistant Commissioner John] Yates's men and she was forced to dress in the presence of a female police officer.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "28 March 2023, Graeme McGarry, “Scott McTominay earns place in history as Scotland stun Spain”, in The Herald",
          "text": "Pedro Porro was a pantomime villain on the night in the eyes of both home and visiting fans - more of that later - slipping on a patch of wet turf to allow Andy Robertson to steal in and scarper to the byline.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To run away; to flee; to escape."
      ],
      "id": "en-scarper-en-verb-qY0zjBAY",
      "links": [
        [
          "run away",
          "run away"
        ],
        [
          "flee",
          "flee"
        ],
        [
          "escape",
          "escape"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(British, slang) To run away; to flee; to escape."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "slang"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "ofejkvam",
          "sense": "to run away; to flee; to escape",
          "word": "офейквам"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "to run away; to flee; to escape",
          "word": "stikke af"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "smatyvatʹsja",
          "sense": "to run away; to flee; to escape",
          "word": "сматываться"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈskɑː.pə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɑː(ɹ)pə(ɹ)"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-scarper.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/03/En-au-scarper.ogg/En-au-scarper.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/En-au-scarper.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "scarper"
}
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "scappare",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to run away"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian scappare (“to run away”)",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "go"
      },
      "expansion": "go",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "it",
        "2": "scappare"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian scappare",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "it",
        "2": "escappare"
      },
      "expansion": "escappare",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "escape"
      },
      "expansion": "English escape",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Scapa Flow",
        "3": "",
        "4": "go"
      },
      "expansion": "Scapa Flow (“go”)",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Probably from Italian scappare (“to run away”), influenced by Cockney rhyming slang Scapa Flow = go.\n* In the chapter \"Punch Talk\" of 1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, Vol 3, the author discusses the slang language used by travelling Italian Punch and Judy men and entertainers, which had English, Italian, Jewish and traveller roots. He states that \"scarper\" is Punch Talk for \"to get away quickly\" (from the police or other authority) and derives from the Italian scappare or escappare (compare English escape).\n* An alternative etymology traces the word \"scarper\" to the Cockney rhyming slang Scapa Flow (“go”) (as in, e.g., \"go away\").",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "scarpers",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "scarpering",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "scarpered",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "scarpered",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "scarper (third-person singular simple present scarpers, present participle scarpering, simple past and past participle scarpered)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English 2-syllable words",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English slang",
        "English terms borrowed from Italian",
        "English terms derived from Italian",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Rhymes:English/ɑː(ɹ)pə(ɹ)",
        "Rhymes:English/ɑː(ɹ)pə(ɹ)/2 syllables"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1904, John Coleman, Fifty years of an actors̓ life, volume 1, page 54",
          "text": "Out went the lights, as he continued, \"That sneak Whiskers have just blown the gaff to old Slow-Coach, and he'll be here in two two's to give you beans — so scarper, laddies — scarper!\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2001, Ardal O'Hanlon, Knick Knack Paddy Whack, page 7",
          "text": "The tramps scarpered, the street-traders pushing prams scarpered, half of Dublin scarpered as if they all had something to hide.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, The Guardian",
          "text": "Helm writes: 'As if she were some street criminal, ready to scarper, Ruth's home was swooped upon by [Assistant Commissioner John] Yates's men and she was forced to dress in the presence of a female police officer.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "28 March 2023, Graeme McGarry, “Scott McTominay earns place in history as Scotland stun Spain”, in The Herald",
          "text": "Pedro Porro was a pantomime villain on the night in the eyes of both home and visiting fans - more of that later - slipping on a patch of wet turf to allow Andy Robertson to steal in and scarper to the byline.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To run away; to flee; to escape."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "run away",
          "run away"
        ],
        [
          "flee",
          "flee"
        ],
        [
          "escape",
          "escape"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(British, slang) To run away; to flee; to escape."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈskɑː.pə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɑː(ɹ)pə(ɹ)"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-scarper.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/03/En-au-scarper.ogg/En-au-scarper.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/En-au-scarper.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "ofejkvam",
      "sense": "to run away; to flee; to escape",
      "word": "офейквам"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "to run away; to flee; to escape",
      "word": "stikke af"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "smatyvatʹsja",
      "sense": "to run away; to flee; to escape",
      "word": "сматываться"
    }
  ],
  "word": "scarper"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.