What does the saying '23 scadoo' mean??

Question

I have heard this saying a few times and I'd like to know what it means. I heard Kitty from That 70's Show say it to Eric and it sounded so funny.

Answer 1

One popular rumor is that in New York City, on 23rd St. there is a building nicknamed the Flatiron Building - it's a very thin triangular building at the intersection of Broadway, 5th Ave. and 23rd St.

Because of the shape of the building, there are some very strong winds that circulate around the base of the building - they've been known to blow up women's skirts.  Teen kids found out about this in the 1920's, and would hang around the building hoping for a flash of a women's ankle or (gasp) maybe a calf...  Remember, around this time the "Flapper" women started wearing shorter, knee-length skirts...

The police would have to go around the building and send these teenagers home, in what came to be known as giving them the "23 Skidoo".  Skidoo meaning, get out of here, go home.  Derived from "skedaddle".

Wikipedia lists some other possible origins, it may have come from race-track slang, where "23" meant to run away, get clear.

Either way, it was the first genuine "Fad" expression in the United States - it caught on and everyone was using it in the 1920's, even if they didn't know what exactly it meant.

BTW, the Flatiron Building is still there, the winds are still strong, and women in skirts still walk by there... ; )

Answer 2

It means "Scram"....

(also a popular saying in the "Roaring Twenties" among the flapper crowd)