Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(orig. US) to vanish suddenly.

[1893		Eve. World (NY) 1 July 5/1: The Parisian illusionist [...] will do his ‘appearing and disappearing’ act].
1895		Newcastle Courant 11 May 5/5: His home-coming has created an even greater excitement than his strategic disappearing act of a few years ago.
1896		Windsor Mag. 4 305/1: Together the two did the disappearing act.
1896		Scranton Trib. (PA) 24 Dec. 4/3: if the culprit [...] knows he has been discovered [...] he immediately proceeds to do a disappearing act.
1901		Eve. Post (Dundee) 30 Mar. 6/5: Now it was the Duke who played the rapid disappearing act.
1903		Monroe City Democrat (MO) 15 Jan. 3/3: The Republican party cannot make the people’s surplus do the disappearing act.
1911		Wash. Times (DC) 19 Mar. 10/2: In less time than it takes a hot dog to do the disappearing act down a freshman’s front entrance.
1921		Richmond Times Dispatch (VA) 31 July 11/3: [advert] 500 Kitchen Cabinets Will Do the Disappearing Act!!
1927		Exeter & Plymouth Gaz. 14 Sept. 2/3: ’Midst the Fair with its commotion / men of modesty and tact / [...] / Do the disappearing act.
1939		Exeter & Plymouth Gaz. 6 Oct. 3/6: The waiter interrupts the meal to do a disappearing act with the chicken.
1946		Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues 291: The guys do a disappearing act before we ever got started.
1953		Yorks. Post 3 Aug. 4/4: Two fully-grown African monkeys [...] did a disappearing act for 16 hours.
1982		J. Sullivan ‘The Yellow Peril’ Only Fools and Horses [TV script] This is the second day on the trot that Del’s done a complete disappearing act.

(US) of a spouse or lover, to run off without warning and without leaving any message.

2003		‘Dating Doyenne’ at IVillage.com 🌐 Imagine how much worse you’d feel now if you’d had sex, then he pulled a disappearing act.
2003		K. Nance Spellbound Blurb at KathleenNance.com 🌐 But Madeline wanted to make sure her handsome djinni wouldn’t pull a disappearing act before she could allow herself to become utterly . . . Spellbound.