flew the coop
Made hasty exit
Flew the coop means escaped or left abruptly, originally referring to chickens escaping their enclosure.
Now used for anyone who departs suddenly, especially from confinement or an unwanted situation: The kids flew the coop as soon as they turned eighteen.
Sometimes implies sneaking away: By the time the cops arrived, he'd already flown the coop.
- leftDeparted or portside
- up and leftDeparted suddenly, unexpectedly
- boltThreaded rod for nuts
- fleeDepart swiftly from threat
- escapeFlight from captivity
make a break · break free · abscond · on the lam · departed · vanish · break · desertion · slip · fugitive · flap · elope · emancipation · chicken · elude · nest · decampment · feathers
- bird expressionsearly bird, birdbrain, bird brain, lovebirds, jailbird
- farm idiomsmake hay while the sun shines, cream of the crop, put the cart before the horse, till the cows come home, buy the farm
- disappearedvanished, disappeared, gone, vanish, faded
flew the coopstayed put
Continued in place
remained · stayed · stuck around · stayed behind · sat tight
flew the cooptoed the line
Adhered to standards
fell in line · played along · conformed · complied · knuckled under