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play hooky

to avoid going to work or school without an excuse
Why do you play hooky every time this happens?
by Light Joker September 5, 2005
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Hoosh

Hoosh is a weed delivery service based in San Francisco. The company uses a smartphone application to connect customers with nearby dispensaries to deliver cannabis on-demand
by brundfeaefgl March 21, 2020
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Related Words

Hooey

When you wanna scream That's a load of Bullshit at the top of your lungs but there's a sweet old grandma next to you so you opt for "ThATs A LOad OF HooEY"
WHaT ThE!- ThaTS A loAD OF Hooey
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Hoody Season

that time of the year (usually in the fall) where it's cold enough to wear a hoody but not cold enough to warrant wearing anything heavier (like a coat)

Hoody Season lasts longer for some people than others. it can even last throughout the whole winter. it depends on the place
by RDD57 September 10, 2010
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hoody haven

The largest anal gay sex group ever publicly released to the internet, this place is not for children. The owner is called h66dy and is the biggest gay sex enjoyer you can ever encounter.
Hey bro, did you see the last announcement in hoody haven?
Yeah holy shit, that was hilarious.
by ErdemMg360 April 7, 2021
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hoosegow

Calabozo; jail; from Sp. "juzgado"
There were six drunks in the cell when I was in the hoosegow last weekend.
by cornholio October 14, 2003
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playing hooky

Skipping school or work.

Play hooky, 'be absent from school without an excuse', is an Americanism first recorded around 1848. Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms gives this slightly later example: "He moped to school gloomy and sad, and took his flogging, along with Joe Harper, for playing hookey the day before." (Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer) And here's another example showing the extended use of the term: "I played hookey from the Appropriations Committee this morning." (Harry Truman, Dear Bess)

Play hooky is probably derived from the Dutch term hoekje (spelen) 'hide-and-seek'. The Dutch word hoek means 'corner'-- the boys in 17th-century New Amsterdam played this game around the corners of the street. Hide-and-seek was a different game back then--the players had to search for a hidden object. Although play hooky originally referred to the game of hide-and-seek, it also had other meanings in the 17th and 18th centuries. It wasn't until the 19th century that schoolchildren began using play hooky to mean 'skip school.'

It's also been suggested that play hooky comes from the verb hook, euphemistically meaning 'to steal', or from the phrase hook it, meaning 'to escape, run away, make off'. These derivations are unlikely-- the Random House Dictionary of American Slang points out that the term hook it was not used in the United States until after 1848.

Play hooky was originally slang, but now, of course, it's standard English. But you're right in noting that the term isn't used very much anymore.
It's a beautiful day today. I feel like playing hooky.
by Eran Yariv May 6, 2006
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