do a runner
(UK, informal) To leave somewhere hurriedly, especially to avoid paying.
Definitions
(UK, informal) To leave somewhere hurriedly, especially to avoid paying.
A fortnight ago, in his “Money talks” column, Patrick Collinson related how, at an airport restaurant earlier this month, he was told by a waiter that they had to pick up the tab if a customer did a runner. Yet the company in charge vehe…
“All the others stick a leaflet through and do a runner.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
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Related terms
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Semantically related
- runner81%
(slang, usually in the phrase do a runner) A quick escape away from a scene; (by extension) the person who gets away.
- run a mile70%
(idiomatic, mostly, UK) To escape, flee, or leave a situation or relationship, usually as a result of a shocking or sudden announcement or revelation.
- scarper67%
(UK, slang) Chiefly in do a scarper: an act of departing quickly or running away; an escape, a flight.
- do a bunk67%
(British, slang, idiomatic) To escape or flee, especially under incriminating circumstances.
- do the dash66%
To hurriedly part with one’s current location, to escape, to flee the scene.