[Ads-l] to croak

[Jonathan Lighter]

'To kill.'

OED/HDAS have this in English criminal lingo from 1819, and U.S.
likewise from 1847 but this is an interesting general ex. ex. from the
American West:

1876 _St. Louis Weekly Globe-Democrat_ (Aug. 25) 2 [Newspapers.com] :
HOW HE KILLED JOE TUTT...SAM STRAWHAN SHOT DEAD...BILL MULVEY'S TURN
TO DIE...TWO SOLDIERS CROAKED.

JL

-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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