Talk:23 skidoo (phrase)

Skidaddle?
I wonder if it's related to "skidaddle"? I remember the Gopher using it in the Walt Disney version of Winnie the Pooh. -- Adam78 10:12, 20 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Well I seem to remember that Gopher speaking in a '49er dialect, so if anything wouldn't that slang be a bit advanced for him? ^^

NFB Film
The National Film Board of Canada made a short documentary film with this title, listed here. There is an IMDB "stub" for it here, but the NFB link has more info. The theme of this film was the aftermath of nuclear holocaust (specifically, the neutron bomb, which had been in the news around the time the film was made, 1964). It was nominated for a BAFTA award in 1965 for best short film. My understanding is that the term 23 skidoo was a Cold War phrase associated with the nuclear threat, something which is not mentioned in this article. Slowmover 15:36, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

Material removed
I'm removing the items in the "Cultural References" section, as follows:
 * 23 skidoo is a phrase considered to be freighted with latent and portent meaning in the The Illuminatus! Trilogy; the explanation given is that the number is deeply related to the all-important number 5 of Discordianism (as 2 + 3 = 5).
 * No source citation provided. Should not go into the article until a source citation to a published reference can be provided, per the verifiability policy. Dpbsmith (talk) 14:42, 23 April 2006 (UTC)


 * "28 Skidoo", a spoof of 23 Skidoo, is mentioned "The Ballad of the Sneak", a web cartoon featuring the old-timey cast of Homestar Runner. The cartoon can be seen here and the lyrics can be found here.
 * This web cartoon is not very famous, and "28 Skidoo" does not play an important part in it. Dpbsmith (talk) 14:42, 23 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Marge Simpson has said it in a few episodes of the Simpsons.
 * Monty Burns said it.Eregli bob (talk) 09:29, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
 * No source citation provided. Should not go into the article until a source citation to a published reference can be provided, per the verifiability policy. Dpbsmith (talk) 14:42, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I've removed this (again, it appears). Source, please. I spent some time trawling the Internet for  a mention and couldn't find one.--Marysunshine 21:20, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I don't think this is a correct understanding of the verifiability policy. When someone is directly quoting a book, film, or TV show, then that material is its own source.  We don't need someone to publish a quote from a Simpsons episode in order to verify it &mdash; the episode itself IS the source .  So there is no reason to remove this kind of material unless you are claiming that it is verifiably false.  Slowmover 13:31, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

What we could really use are some contemporary illustrations of how the phrase was used at the time when it was popular. Dpbsmith (talk) 14:42, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

New explanation for 23 Skiddoo
I was recently on a tour bus in NYC and the tour guide explained that the derivation of the term "23 skiddoo" actually came from NYC's Flatiron building (seen in The Spiderman movies) which is located on the corner of 23rd Street. It is known as the Flatiron building due to its unique aerodynamic design, which is trinagular in nature, and due to this, creates gusty winds on this particular location. When women at the turn of the century would stand on this corner, the winds would toss up their long dresses so loitering men could see their ankles, which was considered quite risque at the time. When the police would pass this corner and see this, they would holler out: 23! Skiddoo!. In other words: you, standing on corner of 23rd Street.....You're out o' here..... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Cathyb108 (talk • contribs) 17:24, 15 May 2007 (UTC).


 * That sounds interesting, but the video accompanying this discussion clearly shows a woman walking over a dark patch on the sidewalk that does what such things still do today, all over New York: when a subway car comes by (under the street) it pushes air up the vent (which is what this patch is) in front of it. Marilyn Monroe is famous for standing on one of these in a color feature film. So it isn't an example of the Flatiron building, but any of a thousand sidewalk vents and should be removed from this page. 74.10.198.105 (talk) 19:38, 29 November 2008 (UTC)


 * FWIW, the Marilyn Monroe film in question is The Seven Year Itch. --LizFL (talk) 08:25, 23 September 2009 (UTC)


 * It has nothing whatsoever to do with subway grates. Spend some time in the Madison Square vacinity (where I live), and you'll experience the shifting winds that come from the convergence of a north-south canyon of buildings (Fifth Avenue), a northwest-southeast canyon (Broadway) and an east--west canyon (23rd Street), all funneling air currents to the square.  These currents hit the Flatiron Building like water breaking past the prow of a ship, and the eddies that result are sometimes almost enough to knock you down -- and certainly enough to send hats flying and skirts raising. That's the physical reality of the spot, so there's no need to remove it from the article -- but, of course, the mere existence of such wind eddies doesn't in any way prove that this is where "23 skidoo" comes from, since the explanation could easily be ex post facto.  It is, however, consistent with the explanation. Ed Fitzgerald t / c 05:24, 30 November 2008 (UTC)


 * 74.10.198.105 isn't saying the effect is due to subway grates, they're saying the video on the page looks like a subway grate. However, if it's from the era it claims to be (ca. 1901), that's impossible, since the subway wasn't completed until 1904, when what became the Lexington line opened from City Hall to 42nd st, and even then, there was unlikely to have been a grate near the Flatiron building over on Fifth.  But I agree, the video sure looks like a woman walking over a subway grate.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 18.111.60.208 (talk) 15:27, 8 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Subway grates are typically larger that the rectangle seen on the video -- which, incidentally, doesn't purport to show the sidewalk outside of the Flatiron Building, but just somewhere on 23rd Street. Since the clip is by Edison, I assume that it's a set-up filmed for commercial purposes, in which case the grate is probably set in a vaulted sidewalk area over a building's basement, with someone stationed below with a bellows to blow up the skirt at the opportune moment. Ed Fitzgerald t / c 17:52, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

23 Skidoo. The intersection of 23rd and East Yesler in Seattle. AKA Skid Row, Skid Road. I remember my Mom telling me back in the late 1950's. When we were driving past, there was a black man with no legs on a creeper pushing himself about. I had never seen a black man and certainly not one without legs. Sorry, just an anecdote.

Deleted content from the disambiguation page for 23 skidoo
This info was placed in the disambig page by an anon IP and quite rightly removed. But I think it might contain useful info so I've moved it into the article Talk page:

"Origin

It isn't certain how '23-skidoo' (or skiddoo) originated. There are numerous competing theories; which is a sure sign of doubt. It seems that '23' originated as a fad term in the USA in the early 20th century.

In 1899, George Ade explained the slang term "twenty-three". This story appeared in an October 1899 edition of The Washington Post:

"By the way, I have come upon a new piece of slang within the past two months and it has puzzled me. I just heard it from a big newsboy who had a 'stand' on a corner. A small boy with several papers under his arm had edged up until he was trespassing on the territory of the other. When the big boy saw the small one he went at him in a threatening manner and said: 'Here! Here! Twenty-three! Twenty-three!'. The small boy scowled and talked under his breath, but he moved away. A few days after that I saw a street beggar approach a well-dressed man, who might have been a bookmaker or horseman, and try for the unusual 'touch'. The man looked at the beggar in cold disgust and said: 'Aw, twenty-three!'. I could see that the beggar didn’t understand it any better than I did. I happened to meet a man who tries to 'keep up' on slang and I asked the meaning of 'Twenty-three!'. He said it was a signal to clear out, run, get away. In his opinion it came from the English race tracks, twenty-three being the limit on the number of horses allowed to start in one race. I don’t know that twenty-three is the limit. But his theory was that 'twenty-three' means that there was no longer any reason for waiting at the post. It was a signal to run, a synonym for the Bowery boy’s 'On your way!'. Another student of slang said the expression originated in New Orleans at the time an attempt was made to rescue a Mexican embezzler who had been arrested there and was to be taken back to his own country. Several of his friends planned to close in upon the police officer prisoner as they were passing in front of a business block which had a wide corridor running through to another block. They were to separate the officer from the prisoner and then, when one of them shouted 'Twenty-three,' the crowd was to scatter in all directions, and the prisoner was to run back through the corridor, on the chance that the officer would be too confused to follow the right man. The plan was tried and it failed, but 'twenty-three' came into local use as meaning 'Get away, quick!' and in time it spread to other cities. I don’t vouch for either of these explanations. But I do know that 'twenty-three' is now a part of the slangy boy’s vocabulary."

'Skiddoo' is another slang term, also originating around the same time and place, meaning much the same as 'skedaddle', i.e. 'leave', 'depart', 'get out of here'.

Here are a few theories as to how '23' and 'skidoo originated' - there are others:

1. In Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities, Sidney Carton is No. 23 of a multitude executed by the guillotine. "In the last act of the theatrical adaptation, 'The Only Way,' an old woman sits at the foot of the guillotine, calmly counting heads as they are lopped off. The only recognition or dignity afforded Carton as he meets his fate is the old woman emotionlessly saying 'twenty-three' as he is beheaded. 'Twenty-three' quickly became a popular catchphrase among the theater community in the early twentieth century, often used to mean, 'It’s time to leave while the getting is good."- Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? by David Feldman, Harper & Row.

2. " …in the first few years of the century, memorabilia sold at vacation resorts and fairs were emblazoned with either 23 or Skidoo, and the two soon met." (Dalzell quoting Partridge.)

3. "Tom Lewis originated the fad word '23' in 'Little Johnny Jones' in 1904, and 'Skidoo' was tacked on later. (Dalzell quoting Partridge.)

4. "23 was possibly derived from a telegraphic shorthand code, not unlike trucker CB code, meaning Away with you!'" (Dalzell quoting Partridge.)

5. Thomas Aloysius Dorgan (TAD), a cartoonist and sportswriter, coined the phrase. The expression never appeared in his work but the simple 23 did appear in a comic published on February 16, 1902. (Dalzell.) Skidoo was simply a fanciful variant of skedaddle." (Feldman)

Skedaddle, according to "The Dictionary of Contemporary Slang" by Tony Thorne, Pantheon Books, originated in the American Civil War and "…suggestions have been made as to the word’s derivation; it is probably a form of a dialect version of scatter or scuttle."

6. 23-skidoo came from an expression that construction workers used while building the Flatiron Building on 23rd Street in N.Y.C. 23rd Street is one of the wider streets in New York that is like an uninterrupted wind-tunnel between the East and Hudson Rivers. Frequently, when one is walking north or south on the avenues and comes to such an intersection, they can experience a sudden blast of wind as soon as the pass the wall of a corner building. Apparently, when the workers sat on the sidewalk to eat their lunches, they would watch women's skirts blow up from the sudden gusts.

7. The phrase originated in the Panimint Mountains in Death Valley in the early 1900s. The mining town of Skidoo had 23 saloons and if you were going to go get drunk you would try to get a drink at each of the saloons. This started the phrase of going 23 skidoo if you were going to have a good time.

Whatever the source, the term was much in vogue in the USA during 1906. In that year there are many examples of its use in various contexts in US newspapers, and no such entries date from 1905 or before." Shawn in Montreal (talk) 05:21, 23 January 2009 (UTC)


 * You're right that it should be integrated into the article, the problem is that it's clearly a straight copyvio lift from somewhere, so while we could use the sub-sections which have cites if were sure the cites were accurate, the provenance of the whole thing being suspect, the cites are suspect as well. Until we know where it came from, or the individual cites can be run down and verified, I wouldn't consider this to be a reliable source. Ed Fitzgerald t / c 06:12, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

Sounds to me more like there's someone out there who's done a lot of research. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 15:13, 23 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes, that's why it sounds like a copyvio. In fact, it's a straight lift from here. Ed Fitzgerald t / c 20:24, 23 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Right-o. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 23:41, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

Honeymooners
The phrase was also used in the Honeymooners episode "Young at Heart". Psalm 119:105 (talk) 09:04, 22 May 2010 (UTC)

Use it in a sentence
So what's the proper usage of this phrase in a sentence? Just by itself? Or something like "Let's 23 skidoo out of here"? Excise (talk) 23:45, 1 July 2010 (UTC)

It's also been used in period 1920s drama in the variant "99 skidoo" (perhaps a reference to the year it first apepared, 1899).

http://www.chakoteya.net/DoctorWho/10-2.htm "DALY: What a head, eh? By gad, I'd love to have that on the club wall, what? (The Doctor and Jo try to sneak through but are spotted before they can open the inner door.) DALY: Oh, hello! DOCTOR: Oh, hello. Topping day, what? DALY: Absolutely splendid. DOCTOR: Yes, ninety nine skidoo! Well, must press on. Pip pip, old chap. DALY: Just a minute. You two passengers?" 2.31.162.90 (talk) 22:37, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

Birth year
My Mom, who was born in 1923, told me that when older kids wanted to shoo her away, they'd say "23 skidoo, small change," meaning that because she was born in 1923 she was too young to hang around with them. I don't think that's a good enough source to include in the article, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. HMishkoff (talk) 01:33, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Anecdote
23 Skidoo. The intersection of 23rd and East Yesler in Seattle. AKA Skid Row, Skid Road. I remember my Mom telling me back in the late 1950's. When we were driving past, there was a black man with no legs on a creeper pushing himself about. I had never seen a black man and certainly not one without legs. Sorry, just an anecdote. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:243:c501:f300:b1b4:9037:d1d0:6a3d (talk) 15:27, 24 June 2016‎ (UTC)
 * Two things: (1) Personal anecdotes without citations from reliable sources to support them aren't terribly useful in building an encyclopedia, and (2) Article talk pages are intended for discussions about how to improve articles, not as a forum to discuss the topic generally. No harm, no foul, but please keep these in mind in the future. BMK (talk) 21:40, 24 June 2016 (UTC)

Herbie Nichols
Jazz pianist Herbie Nichols recorded his instrumental, "2300 Skidoo," circa 1955. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ggann (talk • contribs) 13:04, 6 March 2018 (UTC)

Origin of the Expression
I suppose it's just a coincidence that this expression is classic Cockney rhyming slang for 'shoot through'. ..🤔 ..!! 125.168.242.251 (talk) 02:16, 31 October 2023 (UTC)