beat a retreat

See beat (“to signal beating a drum”).

beat a retreat (third-person singular simple present beats a retreat, present participle beating a retreat, simple past beat a retreat, past participle beaten a retreat)

1. (informal) To leave hastily in the face of opposition.

retreat can be qualified by an adjective: to beat a hasty retreat.

• beat to quarters

• “beat a retreat” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “beat a retreat”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.