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So, I was reading a children's story and came across this sentence:

>
> 「いいか、この最後{さいご}のローソクが消{き}えたら、本当{ほんとう}のお化{ば}けが出{で}るかもしれん。だが、どんなお化けが出ようと、お互{たが}いに
> **逃{に}げっこなし** にしよう」

What I'm having trouble understanding and dictionaries haven't been able to
help is decoding the 逃げっこなしにしよう part. What exactly is happening there?

If more context is needed, the full text can be seen here (it's only about one
page long, very short): <http://hukumusume.com/douwa/pc/100monogatari/001.htm>
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question
meaning expressions
What does 逃げっこなしにしよう mean?
っこ is a suffix that attaches to verbs (in 連用形). It means の事 or する事. It is most
commonly found in the form of っこない which expresses a strong denial as in
絶対…しない or …するはずがない. This may also be っこなし. It typically indicates multiple
people are involved in the activity. Here it means "there will be no running
away". The next line continues with: 「いいとも。どんなお化けが出るか、この目で、しっかり見てやろう」 (Fine.
I'll [stay] and see what kind of monster appears.)
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2012-09-17T00:35:34.173
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answer
Consulting [Daijisen](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch/0/0na/05873300/), `っこ`
means `…のこと` or `…すること` (as in `〜慣れっこ` "being used to" etc) according to sense
(1)(1).

Daijisen also lists in sense (1)(2) "an action done mutually with two or more
people" as in [`とりかえっこ`](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/161070/m0u/) "an
exchange" or sense (1)(3) "an action where two or more people compete" as in
`駆けっこ` "race"/"sprint".

* * *

A common usage of `っこなしにしよう` might be like this example from the [Kenkyuusha
dictionary](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E8%A8%80%E3%81%84%E3%81%A3%E3%81%93%E3%81%AA%E3%81%97):

> このことは誰にも言いっこなしにしましょう. お分かりいただけますね.  
> Let us keep it (strictly) to ourselves. I hope you understand.

* * *

  * `〜っこなし` = `〜（のことなし・することなし）` which I think here means "not (do)ing".
  * `〜にする` = "go with"/"decide to" and `〜にしよう` means "let's go with"/"let's decide to".
  * `〜逃げっこなしにしよう` = `逃げ（のことなし・することなし）にしよう` = "let's go with not running away"/"let's decide on not running away".

So from there:

> 「いいか、この最後のローソクが消えたら、本当のお化けが出るかもしれん。だが、どんなお化けが出ようと、お互いに逃げっこなしにしよう」  
>  "Look here, if this last candle goes out, there could be an actual _Obake_
> that appears. But, whatever the sort of _Obake_ that should appear, let's
> together decide on not running away."
>
> 「いいとも。どんなお化けが出るか、この目で、しっかり見てやろう」  
>  "All right. Whatever the sort of _Obake_ that appears, let's sit tight and
> witness it with our own eyes."

([`この目で見る`](http://eow.alc.co.jp/%E3%81%93%E3%81%AE%E7%9B%AE%E3%81%A7%E8%A6%8B%E3%82%8B/UTF-8/)
= "[see/witness] [firsthand/with our own eyes]" etc.)

* * *

Consulting the `日本語文型辞典`, another common usage of `っこ` in the form of `っこない`
is to strongly negate the chances of something happening. It's used in
informal speech and is close to `絶対…しない`, `…するはずがない` and `…するわけがない`, for
example:

> いくら彼に聞いても、本当のことなんか言いっこないよ。  
>  "However much you ask him, [there's no way he'll/he absolutely won't] tell
> the truth."

**Edit:** Tried to fix various mistakes.
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answer