"Go on, beat it!"

[Odessa Dawn]

Hello, everyone.

beat it (slang)
to go away immediately I told the kid to beat it, and that's the last I saw of him. She said she was going to pack her bag and beat it back to Tennessee.
Usage notes: often used as an order: Go on, beat it!
beat it - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

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As you see above, 'beat it' means 'to go away'. Also, it means to leave someplace. I have no problem with its definition. But when I saw the usage notes, I failed interpreting it because the phrasal verb go on and the slang beat it have been put together in one line. As a result, I couldn’t figure it out.

Question: Does Go on, beat it! mean keep on working, please?

Thank you.
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[SoothingDave]

Why do you think "beat it" means "to leave something"?

"Go on, beat it" means to go ahead and beat it. Do it now.

 

[Odessa Dawn]

Why do you think "beat it" means "to leave something"?

5jj's post made me think that.
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[emsr2d2]

In 5jj's post, when he said "He left", he meant "He departed" which is the same as "He went away".

To beat it = To go away = To leave = To depart

"To leave something" has a completely different meaning. "I left my wallet on the table" = "My wallet is on the table and I forgot to pick it up".

 

[SoothingDave]

I see. I think you mean "leave someplace." When you said "leave something" I thought you meant you left something behind, like "I left my umbrella in my office."

 

[emsr2d2]

"To leave somewhere" does mean to go away, with that "somewhere" as your starting point.

I left Australia when I was 12 years old.
I left home at 10am this morning to go to work.



"To leave someone" means to go away and (possibly) abandon them.

My dad left us when I was 12 years old.
I left my boyfriend when I found out he was cheating on me.