Swanny

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A euphemistic expression used to indicate departure or exit from a place or situation
2. A colloquial phrase signifying the act of leaving or going away from a location or event
3. An informal term employed to convey that someone is taking their leave or moving on from where they are

Etymology: "Swanny" is a dialect and slang word meaning to go away quietly, usually without telling anyone, and it is built from "swan" plus the common adjective-forming suffix "-y." The "swan" part is the surprise. It comes from an older oath, "I shall warrant ye," in which "warrant" was a way of promising something, and the phrase was later reinterpreted as a minced oath, a softened stand-in for "swear." Over time, "swan" stood in for "swear" in various expressions, and that is the route by which the word reached its current sense. Because the base is a clipped oath rather than the bird, the connection to swans is purely accidental. The word is a playful piece of folk coinage, and its meaning of slipping off unnoticed seems to have come from that oath-based ancestry rather than from anything the bird suggests.