check out

"Relax," said the night man / "We are programmed to receive / You can check out any time you like / But you can never leave!"

He checked his favorite mystery out for the twenty-third time.

The desk clerk checked out the family that had been staying in room 322.

He was hanging out at the beach, checking out the young women in bikinis.

The purpose of this exercise was to ignite reactions from students, but over the few years I used it, it backfired, culminating in a situation where I lost a significant number of the white students, who just "checked out" for the rest of the semester.

Even during those years, there would be a lot of times she just checked out. She would be sitting there looking at her nails and she'd just be gone.

Steve: (referring to his girlfriend attempting suicide in front of both of them) Look, I was just an observer.

Bishop: You haven't answered my question.

Steve: Well, what do you think?

Bishop: We'll never know, will we?

Steve: Well, say I just sat there—or we just sat there—and watched her check out. Think that would have been crazy?

The first two leads check out; I'll assume the third one is also valid.