go for a burton

English

Alternative forms

• go for a Burton

Etymology

Originated in the RAF in World War II. Unknown beyond that, but may have some association with beer. One version is that it was from a series of ads for Burton's beer which showed a group of people with one missing and the tag line "He's gone for a Burton".

Verb

go for a burton (third-person singular simple present goes for a burton, present participle going for a burton, simple past went for a burton, past participle gone for a burton)

1. (British, of a person) To be killed.
   • 1945, Eric H Partridge, “Words Get Their Wings”, in College English‎^[1], volume 7, number 1, page 27:

     [G]one for a Burton […] has, in the R.A.F., ousted gone West[.] "He is dead" may appear somewhat remote from "He has gone for a glass of Burton": but, then, all euphemisms do, at first, appear remote.

2. (British, of a person or object) To be lost, spoiled or destroyed.

References

• Michael Quinion (2004) “Go for a burton”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.