ドタキャン (dotakyan)

What it means

1. 1.

   A last-minute cancellation — pulling out on the day, or an hour before. Used as a noun and as a verb: ドタキャンされた, 'they bailed on me'.

Examples with translations

• またドタキャンされた。

  They've cancelled on me again, at the last minute.

• ごめん、今日ドタキャンでもいい？

  Sorry — any chance I can pull out of today?

Where it comes from

土壇場 (dotanba), 'the eleventh hour' — originally the execution ground, the last place you stood — plus キャンセル. Industry jargon from wedding and event venues in the 1990s that went general.

First attested: 1990s

Other forms

Romanised as:

dotakyan