Slip away means to leave quietly without being noticed (a party, work) or to be gradually lost without anyone noticing (time, a chance, a victory). In the first meaning, a person leaves quietly, without goodbyes: we slipped away early. In the second, something valuable is lost little by little, and people notice too late: the chance slipped away, the summer slipped away.
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slip away (from + place/party); time/chance/victory + slips away
- We slipped away from the wedding before the dancing started because the baby was tired.
- I meant to call you all week, but the days just slipped away.
- Our team was winning at half-time, but the victory slowly slipped away.
What changed
First versionI was bored, so I slipped away the party at ten.
RevisionI was bored, so I slipped away from the party at ten.
If you name the place you left, you need from: slipped away from the party. It's often dropped by analogy with leave the party, which really does take no preposition.
Slip out means to leave briefly, for example a room (I slipped out to make a call), or describes a word said by accident: Sorry, it just slipped out. Slip up means something quite different: to make a mistake.
Your turn
Tom didn't want to say goodbye to everyone, so he ___ before the speeches and went home.
Show the answer
slipped away — Tom didn't want to say goodbye to anyone and went home before the speeches, quietly and unnoticed: slipped away. Slipped up means “made a mistake”, and the sentence is about leaving, not about a mistake.
Describe a time or opportunity that you missed. Say what got in the way.
My chance to study in Spain slipped away because I missed the application deadline while I was ill.
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