The basic meaning of this phrasal verb is obvious: get = “become” and away = “not here.” If you see a really, really big spider on a tree, you shout, “Get away from the tree!” But what does it mean to get away with only three hours of sleep? Is that different from getting away with murder? And more importantly, doesn’t a tropical getaway sound like a nice place to get away from it all?
Let’s have a look at the many uses of the phrasal verb get away.
• get away = move away from something. This idiom is often used in the imperative (as a command; see example 2).
→ She told me to get away from the window because of the typhoon.
→ Get away from the car! It’s going to explode.*
(Usually, cars explode only in movies.)
• get away = to leave a place or a person.
→ What time did you finally get away (from work) last night?
→ We walked farther into the park to get away from the crowd.
→ Sorry, I couldn’t get away any earlier. I got away as early as I could.
• get away = to escape. Noun: getaway.
→ The police chased the robber, but he got away.
→ Come and help me clean the kitchen. You’re not getting away this time.
→ The bank robbers planned a getaway. They had a getaway car.
• get away = to go somewhere on holiday or for a break from normal routines. Noun: getaway.
→ Sherry needs to get away for a few days to think things over.
→ I’m heading to the beach this weekend to get away from it all.
→ I know of a special getaway in the mountains north of the city.
• get away from = to change the way you do something.
→ Our company needs to get away from expensive advertising.
→ Pete’s restaurant can’t get away from the bad image people have of it.
• get away from = to begin to change the subject of discussion.
→ That’s interesting, but we’re getting away from the main point.
→ Our discussion quickly got away from the things we needed to talk about.
• get away with = to not be punished or criticized for something.
→ The thief got away with his crime.
→ Hal often makes mistakes at work, but he always gets away with it.
• get away with = to do something successfully, even though it’s not the best way to do it.
→ Do you think we can get away with spending less on the meeting?
→ I think we can get away with a single coat (layer) of paint on the wall.
• get away with murder = to not be punished or criticized for bad things.
→ Ben always gets away with murder at work, because the boss really likes him.
→ Hank lets his kids get away with murder. They get bad grades in school, they don’t follow rules …
Important Takeaway: Learning idioms and phrasal verbs is much easier if you learn them alongside similar phrases. You won’t get away without studying, you might get away from all the confusion of trying to learn them in other ways.
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