cheese it

phrase

An imperative used as a warning to stop, hide, or flee

Meanings

phrase
  1. UKdatedslangAn imperative used as a warning to stop, hide, or flee

    Cheese it, the coves are fly; be silent, the people understand our discourse.

    1811, Francis Grose, Hewson Clarke, Lexicon Balatronicum
    3 more examples

    […] he holds earnest parley with some members of the upper gallery who are beguiling the time by pelting us with nut-shells, and broken pipes. Two or three 'hallos!' and 'now thens!' accompanied by a strong recommendation to 'cheese it' (i. e., act of cessation), cause these trifling annoyances to cease.

    1859, George Augustus Henry Sala, “Strollers at Dumbledowndeary”, in Gaslight and Daylight, page 328

    The defence of Mr. Conover was so prompt and admirable that the conflict was protracted until the onlookers unselfishly gave the warning cry of "Cheese it—the cop!" The principals escaped easily by running through the nearest open doors into the communicating backyards at the rear of the houses.

    1908, O. Henry, The Voice of the City, page 154

    Knowing that Bobbie would be on sentry-go made all the difference. Any gangster will tell you that the strain and anxiety of busting a safe are greatly diminished if you've a look-out man ready at any moment to say “Cheese it, the cops!”

    1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter VIII

    Synonyms: punch it, desist, heads up

Synonyms & antonyms

phraseAn imperative used as a warning to stop, hide, or flee

Origin

Unknown, but lexicographer Eric Partridge speculated that it may be a corruption of cease. Originally thieves' cant. In his Vocabulary of the Flash Language, author and former convict James Hardy Vaux (1782-?) defined cheese it as synonymous with stash it and stow it, all meaning to desist or leave off.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic توقف
  • توقفa warning to stop, hide, or flee
French vingt-deux ! (22!), attention
  • vingt-deux ! (22!)a warning to stop, hide, or flee
  • attentiona warning to stop, hide, or flee
  • gaffea warning to stop, hide, or flee
Polish dawać dyla, dać dyla
  • dawać dylaa warning to stop, hide, or flee
  • dać dylaa warning to stop, hide, or flee
Romanian șase
  • șasea warning to stop, hide, or flee
Russian шу́хер, ата́нда
  • шу́хер (šúxer)a warning to stop, hide, or flee
  • ата́нда (atánda)a warning to stop, hide, or flee
  • ата́с (atás)a warning to stop, hide, or flee
Cite this entry
APA

cheese it. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cheese%20it

MLA

“cheese it.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cheese%20it. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cheese it,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cheese%20it.

Source: cheese it on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.