Scarper

British Slang meaning to run off or run away. There are two theories about its origin. One is rhyming slang Scapa Flow/go. Scapa Flow is a remote Royal Navy anchorage in the Orkney Islands that made world headlines in 1919 after WWI, when German sailors scuttled their entire battle fleet in Scapa Flow rather than allow it to pass into British hands. There is strong evidence, however, that the word scarper was in use from the mid-19th century, long before the average Londoner would have heard of Scapa Flow to create rhyming slang from it. The second theory is that it was borrowed from the Italian 'scappare', which means to run away. Italian pidgin known as 'paliari' (from the Italian 'palare' to speak) was spoken by street traders, vagabonds and buskers during the 19th century, and they would often have to scarper. The chronology suggests that this second theory is more plausible, but there is little doubt that the Scapa Flow version gave the expression fresh impetus from about 1919 onwards because the scuttling of the German fleet was big news at the time and would have caught the attention of most London Cockneys.