student asking question

What does "get away with something" mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Get away with something" means to escape punishment and/or criticism after doing something wrong. In this clip, Kate said "get away from it." "Get away from something" means to escape a person or thing that is causing harm, pain, or unpleasant emotions. These two phrases have different meanings and it is important to not mix them up: one is escaping punishment from an action that you did; the other is escaping harm, difficulty, and/or pain that is being caused by something. Here are examples of "get away with something." Ex: "How to Get Away with Murder" is a great show! Ex: I cannot believe that she got away with cheating on the test. Ex: The thief got away with his crime. Here are examples of "get away from something." Ex: She needs to get away from him. He is not good for her. Ex: He needed to get away from everything and take a week-long vacation. Ex: I want to get away from the city and go somewhere peaceful.

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