cop out
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Attested since 1942 as “flee, escape, cop (an) out”.[1]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb[edit]
cop out (third-person singular simple present cops out, present participle copping out, simple past and past participle copped out)
- (idiomatic) To avoid or shirk, either by failing to perform, or by performing in a grossly insufficient, negligent, or superficial manner.
- Faced with the prospect of cooking for himself, his first thought was to cop out and order a pizza.
- 2000, Bill Oddie, Gripping Yarns, page 67:
- There was no bird fair at Druridge so I didn't have to feel guilty about copping out of it.
- To plead guilty and ask for mercy.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to avoid or shirk
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References[edit]
- ^ Lester V. Berrey with Melvin van den Bark (1942) The American Thesaurus of Slang