Meaning
Example Sentences
- They asked him to go to the movies, but he decided to lone it.
- All of her friends went on vacation together; she chose to lone it.
- I'm not a people person; I lone it.
- COVID-19 has taught me to lone it.
- Despite wanting to go to the beach, he decided to lone it.
- He wasn't in the mood to go out, so he chose to lone it.
- Earlier in the day, she got dumped, so she loned it and ate ice cream.
Origin
The exact origin of the phrasal verb is unknown, primarily used in the 1960s. S.E. Hinton's book The Outsiders, first published in 1967, popularized this phrase. On the first page, Ponyboy, the narrator says:
"In I had a long walk home and no company, but I usually lone it anyway, for no reason except that I like to watch movies undisturbed so I can get into them and live them with the actors."
Any internet search for this expression leads back to the book. Alan Ginsburg was one of the Beat Generation poets. In 1955, he penned his most famous work, Howl. Line 25 of the poem is:
"who loned it through the streets of Idaho seeking visionary Indian angels who were visionary Indian angels."
In 1995 C.J Cherryh wrote Riders at the Gate, a science fiction fantasy novel. One of the lines is:
"Gerry had taken hires he shouldn't have taken, lone it across the mountains in a season he shouldn't have."
There isn't a lot of history on this idiomatic phrase. Although with social distancing, it's a good one to add to your lexicon.
