disappearing act

English

Noun

disappearing act (plural disappearing acts)

  1. A sudden disappearance; the act of leaving unexpectedly.
    • 1982, William Repka, Dangerous Patriots: Canada's Unknown Prisoners of War
      He suggested that we do a disappearing act some morning as soon as we got to the woods and he would make sure that the alarm would not be given […]
    • 2001, Richard Azzolini, There's a Chef in Your Freezer
      Onions do a disappearing act as they cook, shrinking about 80 percent of their volume.
    • 2013, Daniel Taylor, Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic climbs highest to sink Benfica (in The Guardian, 15 May 2013)
      It was a remarkable climax to a match that ended with another of those disappearing acts from John Terry only to re-emerge, in full kit, so he could climb the steps, shake the hands of Eusébio, Michel Platini and all the other dignitaries, then help Frank Lampard to lift the trophy.
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