dine and dash

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phraseinformal

   The act of eating a meal at a restaurant and leaving without paying the bill.

   Grammar: Used as a noun phrase; often preceded by 'a' or 'the'.

   Patterns

   • a dine and dash
   • the dine and dash

   The police were called after a dine and dash at the new pizza place.

   He was caught on camera committing a dine and dash at a local diner.

   The restaurant lost money because of a dine and dash last weekend.

2. 2verbintransitiveinformal

   To eat a meal at a restaurant and then leave quickly without paying.

   Grammar: No object; used as a verb phrase, often in the pattern 'dine and dash on someone'.

   Patterns

   • dine and dash
   • dine and dash on someone

   Two customers tried to dine and dash, but the waiter stopped them.

   They dined and dashed after ordering expensive steaks.

   She was accused of dining and dashing at three different restaurants.

Common combinations

commit a dine and dash

He committed a dine and dash and was banned from the restaurant.

a dine and dash incident

The police are investigating a dine and dash incident at a downtown cafe.

try to dine and dash

They tried to dine and dash, but the manager saw them.

be accused of dining and dashing

She was accused of dining and dashing after a romantic dinner.

Synonyms and how they differ

chew and screw

A slang expression with the same meaning, but it is more vulgar and less common in formal writing.

skip out on the bill

A more general phrase meaning to leave without paying, not limited to restaurants.

Commonly confused: dine and dash or dine and ditch?

Practice

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