hack around

present singular third person hacks around · participle present hacking around · participle past hacked around · past hacked around

1. USintransitiveTo be idle; to waste time; to socialize.

   “Gosh! Just think, maybe we walked over him a couple of times when we were hacking around in the woods. Gives you a spooky feeling, doesn’t it?”

   1971, Jay Williams, chapter 5, in The Hawkstone, page 45

   2 more examples

   When Mom and Dad went back to work, I was mostly home alone again after school. Willy came over a lot and we just hacked around doing stuff—playing video games or tossing the football out back.

   1993, David Boyd, Looking for a Hero, page 96

   I’m the boss and the guys know it. But they also know they can hack around a bit or take a ten-minute break without getting shouted at. In fact if they didn’t hack around a bit I’d never have hired them.

   2016, Luke Rhinehart, chapter 1, in Invasion

   Synonyms: hack about