ENGLISH
REFERENCE

make like a tree and leave

idiom
Meaning

To leave, depart.


Origin

disputed origin

A pun on leave (“depart”) and leave (“produce leaves”) (or its more common variant, leaf).

Examples
SIMPLE

This party is boring, so let's make like a tree and leave.

CONTEXTUAL

The movie was terrible, so we decided to make like a tree and leave before the final scene.

COMPLEX

Realizing the conversation had turned hostile, he chose to make like a tree and leave rather than engage in a pointless argument.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    absence makes the heart grow fonder

    One feels more love or affection for those one loves when parted from them.

  2. 02

    and the like

    And other similar items; et cetera.

  3. 03

    bark up the wrong tree

    To take the wrong approach to a situation; to follow a false lead; to attempt to solve a problem using mistaken assumptions about its true nature.

  4. 04

    be like

    To say.

  5. 05

    built like a brick outhouse

    Synonym of built like a brick shithouse.

  6. 06

    built like a brick shipyard

    Synonym of built like a brick shithouse.

  7. 07

    built like a brick shithouse

    Of a man, having a muscular body, particularly with well-developed muscles of the chest, arms and abdominals.

  8. 08

    cannot make it

    Cannot reach satisfactory or expected standards or do something competently; describes someone in a hopeless situation.

Last updated April 17, 2026