"One of the popular New York City myths is that the slang term "twenty-three skidoo" comes from the Flatiron Building at Twenty-Third Street and Broadway/Fifth Avenue. Tourist buses pass by this spot; they have to talk about something. The area has high winds, lifting women's skirts up. Allegedly, an Officer Kane told some naughty boys to "twenty-three skidoo" from the scene. Scram! Beat it! Go away! The problem here is that I've found articles about "twenty-three" in 1899. The Flatiron Building was completed in 1902. One theory is that "23" is the number of the last victim in the then-popular play version of Charles Dickens's novel A Tale of Two Cities, titled The Only Way. "Skidoo" probably comes from "skedaddle," a term made popular during the Civil War. I have several articles that credit the vaudeville actor Billy B. Van with combining the two slang terms into "twenty-three skidoo." No doubt, the slang phrase was popular. No doubt, it was used at 23rd Street."
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Barry Popik, in "Twenty-Three Skidoo (23rd Street myth)" in The Big Apple (13 July 2004)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/23
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23
23 (twenty-three) is the natural number following 22 and preceding 24; Year 23 (XXIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pollio and Vetus (or, less frequently, year 776 Ab urbe conduit). This page is for quotes related to either the year or the number.
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