fly the coop, to

fly the coop

To leave or escape (something). This lecture is so boring. Come on, let's fly the coop and go get a drink somewhere! I'm definitely flying the coop when I turn 18—I can't wait to have a little freedom!See also: coop, fly

fly the coop

Fig. to escape; to get out or get away. (Alludes to a chicken escaping from a chicken coop.) I couldn't stand the party, so I flew the coop. The prisoner flew the coop at the first opportunity.See also: coop, fly

fly the coop

Escape, run away, as in After years of fighting with my mother, my father finally flew the coop. This term originally meant "escape from jail," known as the coop in underworld slang since the late 1700s. [Late 1800s] See also: coop, fly

fly the coop

If someone flies the coop, they leave the situation that they are in, often because they want to have more freedom or want to do something different. Aged 21, I felt the time was right to fly the coop and my parents were okay about it. It should be a proud moment, junior hairwasher grows up, graduates to senior stylist and then flies the coop to set up in a salon of his or her own. Compare with fly the nest. Note: A coop is a small cage in which chickens or small animals are kept. `Coop' is also American slang for a prison. See also: coop, fly

fly the coop

make your escape. informal 1991 Julia Phillips You'll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again Has David left? Nah, he would want to make sure I'm really ensconced, or I might fly the coop. See also: coop, fly

fly the ˈcoop

(informal, especially American English) escape from a place: He was never happy living at home with his parents, so as soon as possible he flew the coop and got his own place.A coop is a cage for chickens, hens, etc.See also: coop, fly

fly the coop

tv. to escape from somewhere; to get away. I was afraid he would fly the coop if I didn’t tie him up. See also: coop, fly

fly the coop, to

To escape. This expression, with its analogy to barnyard fowl escaping from a chicken coop or other enclosure, is American in origin and dates from about 1900. “On the third day I flew the coop,” wrote O. Henry (The Enchanted Profile, 1909). More recently Harry Kemelman used it in Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry (1966): “This man ran off . . . flew the coop, beat it.”See also: fly