beating a hasty retreat
Rapidly backing away
Beating a hasty retreat is withdrawing quickly from an uncomfortable, dangerous, or embarrassing situation.
The phrase comes from military usage, where drums beat to signal troops to fall back.
Now it's usually figurative: When he saw his ex-girlfriend at the party, he beat a hasty retreat.
The hasty emphasizes speed driven by urgency or panic rather than strategy.
- dashQuick burst or pinch
- sprintBrief maximum-speed effort
- fleeDepart swiftly from threat
- run awayDepart hastily to escape
- abscondFlee to avoid capture
bolt · dart · make a break · scurry · scuttle · turn tail · panic · disengage · regroup · fear · vanish · evacuate · tactical withdrawal · rout · skedaddle · cut and run · avoidance · maneuver
beating a hasty retreatstanding your ground
advancing · attacking · digging in · counterattacking · storming the gates
beating a hasty retreatsticking it out
doubling down · persevering · soldiering on · weathering the storm · hanging in there
beating, beats, beaten, beater, haste, hasty, hastily, hastiness, hasten