give the black bottle
v. phr.— «Given the black bottle. Put out of his misery; this expression arises from the belief that loggers who were badly hurt in accidents were poisoned to ease their suffering.» —“Lumber Industry Slang and Jargon” in Maine, Iowa, Mich., Wisc., Ore., Mont., Ark., Wy. Lexicon of Trade Jargon , 1938-39. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What if, instead of being an inanimate object, a dictionary were alive? That’s the idea behind a lavishly illustrated new children’s book called The Dictionary Story (Bookshop|Amazon) by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston. This is part of a...
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...