Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to dance.

1934

(con. 1920s) J.T. Farrell Young Manhood in Studs Lonigan (1936) 363: ‘Come up here to ankle around?’ asked Wils Gillen.

2. to walk; usu. ext. as ankle over, ...up etc.

1917		A. Baer Playing on Sabbath 4 June [synd. col.] Anti-clockwise is the way to ankle round the bases.
1921		Jerry on the Job [comic strip] I guess I’ll ankle over and take the matter up.
1926		Maines & Grant Wise-crack Dict. 5/1: Ankled by – Went by and not riding.
c.1935		‘Mae West in “The Hip Flipper”’ [comic strip] in B. Adelman Tijuana Bibles (1997) 92: Who should ankle up and give her a play but [etc.].
1936		K. Mackenzie Living Rough 80: A swelled-dressed gent ankled in.
1936		Wodehouse ‘The Amazing Hat Mystery’ in Young Men in Spats 110: ‘[I]f the King wants a new topper he simply ankles round to Bodmin’s’.
1938		W. Winchell On Broadway 11 Mar. [synd. col.] George M. Cohan [...] ankling round the Central park reservoir and passing Lee Shubert. They don’t talk.
1943		R.L. Bellem ‘Dead Man’s Shakedown’ in Dan Turner Detective Mar. 🌐 I ankled into his private office above the theater at seven-thirty.
1946		Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues 140: I ankled back to Chicago from my barnstorming and barn-burning tour.
1954		Wodehouse Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit 69: I [...] ankled along to inform my hostess that I had come aboard.
1955		Argus (Melbourne) 1 Dec. 3/6: A girl about 15 comes into the shop. The boys lean back and whistle. One says, ‘Well, look what’s ankled in’.
1964		A. Hine Unsinkable Molly Brown 33: ‘Ankle along, sister,’ the woman said in a gruff voice. ‘I got this side of the street spoken for.’.
1979		E. Torres After Hours 105: I ankled over to the club.

3. to leave, to walk away from.

1998		(con. 1986) G. Pelecanos Sweet Forever 37: Karras ankled his position at the end of the semester.
2009		D. Westlake Get Real [ebook] ‘Before we knew guys were gonna ankle,” Doug said, “we put together a rough cut of the season so far.