retreat
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beat a (hasty) retreat
To leave a place or situation quickly. I beat a hasty retreat when I saw my ex-boyfriend walk into the party. When the rain started, everyone on the field beat a retreat indoors.
beat a (quick) retreat
To leave a place or situation very quickly. I beat a retreat when I saw my ex-boyfriend walk into the party. When the rain started, everyone on the field beat a quick retreat indoors.
go into (one's) shell
1. To retreat into one's mind or otherwise isolate oneself so as to avoid undesirable thoughts, situations, or interactions with people. After getting mugged I went into my shell and didn't speak to anyone for nearly a week. I'm not good around large groups of people; I usually just go into my shell and wait until I can be alone. Don't go into your shell because you don't want an argument—talk to me and let's discuss the problem!
2. To act in a reserved and/or defensive manner. The team went into their shells after half time, trying to protect a slim lead. The senator went into his shell when reporters tried to question him about allegations of tax fraud.
retreat into (one's) shell
1. To retreat into one's mind or otherwise isolate oneself so as to avoid undesirable thoughts, situations, or interactions with people. After getting mugged I retreated into my shell and didn't speak to anyone for nearly a week. I'm not good around large groups of people. I usually just retreat into my shell and wait until I can be alone. Don't retreat into your shell because you don't want an argument—talk to me and let's discuss the problem!
2. To act in a reserved and/or defensive manner. The team retreated into their shells after halftime, trying to protect a slim lead. The senator retreated into his shell when reporters tried to question him about allegations of tax fraud.
withdraw into (one's) shell
1. To retreat into one's mind or otherwise isolate oneself so as to avoid undesirable thoughts, situations, or interactions with people. After getting mugged I withdrew into my shell and didn't speak to anyone for nearly a week. I'm not good around large groups of people. I usually just withdraw into my shell and wait until I can be alone. Don't withdraw into your shell because you don't want an argument—talk to me and let's discuss the problem!
2. To act in a reserved or defensive manner. The team withdrew into their shells after halftime, trying to protect a slim lead. The senator withdrew into his shell when reporters tried to question him about allegations of tax fraud.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
beat a (hasty) retreat
to withdraw from a place very quickly. We went out into the cold weather, but beat a retreat to the warmth of our fire. The dog beat a hasty retreat to its own yard.
retreat (from something) (to some place)
to withdraw from something to some place. The army retreated from the battlefield to the safety of the forest. They retreated to the other side of the river.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
beat a retreat
Also, beat a hasty retreat. Reverse course or withdraw, usually quickly. For example, I really don't want to run into Jeff-let's beat a retreat. This term originally (1300s) referred to the military practice of sounding drums to call back troops. Today it is used only figuratively, as in the example above.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
beat a hasty retreat
If you beat a hasty retreat, you leave a place quickly in order to avoid an embarrassing or dangerous situation. Cockburn decided it was time to beat a hasty retreat. Note: People sometimes just say that someone beats a retreat. I can still beat a retreat to my own hotel, and pretend that none of this ever happened. Note: Other adjectives such as quick and rapid are sometimes used instead of hasty. You weren't tempted to change your mind and beat a quick retreat?
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
beat a hasty retreat
withdraw, typically in order to avoid something unpleasant.In former times, a drumbeat could be used to keep soldiers in step while they were retreating.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
beat a (hasty) reˈtreat
go away quickly from somebody/something: I had a terrible headache from all the noise and smoke at the party, so my wife and I beat a hasty retreat.In the past, the beat of a drum was sometimes used to keep soldiers marching in the same rhythm when they were retreating (= moving away from the enemy).go, retreat, withdraw, etc. into your ˈshell
become more shy and avoid talking to other people: If you ask him about his family, he goes into his shell.See also: shell
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
beat a retreat
To make a hasty withdrawal.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
beat a (hasty/quick) retreat, to
To withdraw, back down, or reverse course, usually without delay. The term comes from the military practice of sounding drums to recall troops behind the lines, or to some other position. In earlier days wind instruments, most often trumpets, were used for this purpose. Among the references to this practice is “Thai had blawen the ratret,” in John Barbour’s The Bruce (1375). Much later the expression was used figuratively to mean the same as the simple verb to retreat, and then, in the mid-nineteenth century, it became a cliché. A newer version is to beat a strategic retreat, basically a euphemism for a forced withdrawal. It came into use during World War I, as the German high command’s explanation of retiring from the Somme in 1917. In the civilian vocabulary, it came to mean yielding a point or backing down from a position in an argument.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer