1) Casually slip out of social engagements, in such a way that one's host does not even notice.
2) Casually loiter near the head of the buffet line, waiting for the signal for guests to begin serving themselves, in order to be able to be the first to eat (derived from (1): the better to be able to slip away quickly.)
V/ To work from home... Named after the fact that George Washington was the only president to never ACTUALLY live in the white house. Instead, he governed from Mount Vernon!