Origin: 1250–1300; (noun) Middle English poudre < Old French < Latin pulver- (stem of pulvis) dust, powder; akin to pollen; (v.) Middle English poudren < Old French poudrer, derivative of poudre
BritishDialect. a sudden, frantic, or impulsive rush.
Idiom
3.
take a powder, Slang. to leave in a hurry; depart without taking leave, as to avoid something unpleasant: He took a powder and left his mother to worry about his gambling debts. Also, take a runout powder.
mod. alcohol intoxicated. : Most of the bums in the gutter are really powdered.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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