burking
n.— «A medical examiner testified during the trial that someone used great force that cut and bruised Carissimi’s face as she was held face-down on a muddy trail through woods on the island park in the Detroit River near downtown. He described a method called “Burking” where a killer sits on top of a victim to reduce lung capacity and accelerate asphyxiation.» —“Woman withdraws plea in Belle Isle slaying” by Doug Guthrie Detroit News (Michigan) July 24, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What’s it like to hike the Pacific Crest Trail all the way from Mexico to Canada? You’ll end up with sore muscles and blisters, and great stories to tell. Along the way, you’ll also pick up some slang, like NoBo, SoBo, Yo-yo and...
A hundred years ago, suffragists lobbied to win women the right to vote. Linguistically speaking, though, suffrage isn’t about “suffering.” It’s from a Latin word that involves voting. Plus: military cadences often include...
Burking was inspired by Burke and Hare, the Edinburgh mass murderers who sold bodies to doctors for medical experiments. They smothered their victims to minimize damage to the corpses. Once Burke and Hare were found out and arrested, the method of murder came to be called “burking.”