burton1
/ˈbəːt(ə)n
/noun (in phrase go for a burton) British informal
Meet with disaster; be ruined, destroyed, or killed: his boat would cut mine in two and I’d go for a burton...
- And there's where rule Number Three went for a burton.
- My CD player has gone for a burton; I don't know what on earth is wrong with it.
- Cardiff's unbeaten start was not the only record to go for a burton.
Origin
Second World War (originally RAF slang): perhaps referring to Burton ale, from Burton upon Trent.
Rhymes
burton2
/ˈbəːt(ə)n/(also burton-tackle)
noun historical
A light two-block tackle for hoisting.‘A burton-tackle to the chess tree,’ he called, loud and clear....
- Gilliatt had barely time to seize the burton tackle.
- From each steel cap at the apex two steel cables led to the enormous 16-sheave burton tackle whose pendant was geared at 8000-to-1 ratio to a 5-horsepower electric motor winch.
Origin
Early 18th century: alteration of Middle English Breton tackle, a nautical term in the same (see Breton).