a short drop and a sudden stop

a short drop and a sudden stop

euphemism Death from hanging. Many a knave has been the recipient of a short drop and a sudden stop for less than the crime of which you have been accused, my young fellow. A: "You guys are already at the scene? OK, what do you think happened to our victim?" B: "Looks like a case of a short drop and a sudden stop—we hear she had an apartment on the fifty-first floor." People around here used to take the law into their own hands and punish criminals with a short drop and a sudden stop—if you know what I mean.

See also: and, drop, short, stop, sudden

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