"pop out" from~
'Is this Planet Earth?' Astronaut dials wrong number
British astronaut Tim Peake has apologized after dialing a wrong number from the International Space Station and saying "Hello, is this planet Earth?" to the woman who answered.
中略
According to Britain's Daily Telegraphnewspaper, it is not the spaceman's first phone flub. On Monday, he tried to ring his parents to wish them a Merry Christmas but had to leave a message because they had "popped out" from their home in southern England.
"popped out "を取り上げます。「飛び出る」「弾け飛ぶ」などという意味がありますが、「英辞郎on the WEB」によると「短時間外出する」「ちょっとだけ留守にする」とあります。
LDOCEで確認すると"to go somewhere quickly, suddenly, or in a way that you did not expect"と定義されており，やはり「所要でちょっと出かける」という感じですね。それゆえ，「急に〜する」のpop（cf. Pop-eye）が使われていると納得しました。引用符がついているのはこれが主にBritish usageだからだと思います。(lua)
