Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to leave (hurriedly).

1879		Truth 6 175: A thick fog came on in the afternoon, a convenient visitation for any one intending to do a shunt.
1882		Manchester Courier 28 Jan. 10/5: We’d better do a shunt out of Manchester [...] for the police’ll be after you.
1904		Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 10 Feb. 4/2: [headline] Doing a Shunt.

to get rid of, to dismiss; thus get the shunt v., to receive such treatment.

1887		Worcs. Chron. 8 Oct. 7/4: ‘I should like to have the vote, to give old Gladstone the shunt’.
1894		N. Wales Chron. 15 Dec. 5/2: The party who will give the shunt to Angelsey [...] be sure to go to the poll.
1906		Burra Record (SA) 30 May 5/1: They Say [...] That Mat May has got the shunt from Paull’s Mine; given a week's notice, and a month’s pay in advance to clear out.
1917		Ottowa Jrnl 15 Mar. 16/3: ‘If they don’t give us a shunt out of here soon, there’ll be none of us left’.
1919		S. Ford Torchy and Vee (2008) 186: He’ll run around with [...] most anything that wears skirts, until they discover what a tight-wad he is and give him the shunt.
1975		Guardian 23 June 8/6: If you can’t give everyone UHF [...] that gives the shunt to the idea.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 102/2: shunt dismissal; eg ‘Well, Ma, I got the shunt today.’.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].

(Aus.) an act of dismissal.

1888

‘’Arry on Marriage’ in Punch 29 Sept. 156/1: Wor mucks me, old man, is the manner in which a chap gets the off-shunt / As soon as he’s labelled ‘engaged.’.