hoof it

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

hoof it (third-person singular simple present hoofs it, present participle hoofing it, simple past and past participle hoofed it)

1. (slang) To walk, especially when as a result of regular transportation being unavailable.
   • 2017, Charles E. Morgan III, The Case of the Stolen Jewelry:

     I hoofed it around the store. I didn't see any soda pop bottles, anywhere.

2. (slang) To dance.
   • 2017, David M. Kelly, Mathematics of Eternity:

     It was doing what looked like an old-fashioned soft-shoe dance, complete with miniature cane, bow tie, and top hat. As it danced, it sang in a squeaky whistle.
     "...the old lady was doing a broken-down conga in twenty-five. We hoofed it 'till we couldn't take it any longer and had to jive..."

3. (slang) To depart; scram.
   • 2008, W. S. Walton, The Demos at Dawn, page 456:

     Now hoof it. Don't leave Athens to those Asian cowards who ran from us this morning.

References

• Tony Thorne (2014) “hoof it”, in Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, 4th edition, London,  […]: Bloomsbury