Meaning
- to tell someone to leave at once.
- to depart, especially at once.
- to leave quickly.
- When you tell someone to "leave" like a tree, you are asking them to do just that: leave. Trees have leaves.
Examples in Sentences
- "Why don't you make like a tree and leave?" "You are starting to get on my nerves," he said to him after the argument in the office.
- They had to make it like a tree and leave after showing up to the festival and finding it boring.
- I was offended when she told me to make like a tree and leave.
- After costing the team victory in the finals, nobody wanted him there, so he was told to make like a tree and leave.
Origin
The exact origin of the idiom "make like a tree and leave" is unknown. The expression, however, became well-known because of the successful 1980 film "Back to the Future," in which a character mispronounced the phrase to demonstrate how stupid the character is. The idiom was also posted on November 10th, 2005, by Brian from Shawnee.
One of Biff Tannen's catchphrases from the Back to the Future movies is infamous. I despise manure, and "Shiiiit!" are the other two.
Biff the Younger: All right, I'll have a look. Now, why don't you leave by standing up straight like a tree?
Old Biff slaps Young Biff across the head and says, "Leave, you moron!" You sound like a dumb fool when you pronounce "make like a tree and depart" incorrectly!
