To Slip Out

Idiom: to slip out; used as a verb

First Example:

Randy: Why did you leave class early?

Henry: I felt my phone vibrate.

Randy: Why wasn't it off?

Henry: My sister went into labor this morning, so I left it on vibrate in case she had the baby while I was in class. 

Randy: Did she?

Henry: Yeah.  My mom called to tell me the good news.  I tried to slip out quietly.

Randy: Oh, the teacher noticed.  As soon as you left, he gave us a pop quiz, saying that you'd miss points for answering your phone during class.

Henry: Oh no!

Meaning: The phrase “slip out” means to leave a place quietly without being noticed.  It has a similar meaning to "sneak out," although "sneak out" implies you are doing something wrong ("slip out" is neutral). In the example, Randy tried to slip out of the classroom to answer his phone; however, he wasn't successful at being unnoticed.   Look at another example:

Maria: Where do you want to sit?

Anthony: I like to sit on the aisle at movies.

Maria: Really?  I normally try to sit in the middle so I can see the center or the screen.

Anthony: Yeah, I think most people do, but I prefer the aisle so I can slip out if I need to go to the restroom.                                                       

Maria: That's a good idea.  I hate having to walk past people during the movie.

In this case, Anthony sits on the aisle during movies so he can quietly leave, or "slip out", of the theater to use the restroom.   Notice that in this example, Anthony isn't doing anything wrong, so you probably wouldn't "sneak out" in this situation.

This idiom is from LSI's new edition of "Reading Horizons," which will be used in the Level 6 Reading classes. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com/