Burke

Burke
   obsolete
   to murder
   The celebrated Irishman killed people to replenish his stock of corpses which he sold for medical research until he was hanged in Edinburgh in 1829. The modern usage as a mild insult, usually spelt berk, comes via rhyming slang from the Berkshire or Berkeley Hunt, viewed figuratively and not anatomically.

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • Burke — may refer to:PlacesAustralia* Shire of Burke, Queensland, a Local Government Areas in Australia * Division of Burke has been the name of an Australian Electoral Division twice * Bourke, New South Wales, a town (pronounced Burke )Canada* Burke… …   Wikipedia

  • Burke — steht für: Burke (Familienname), Personen mit dem Familiennamen Burke Orte in den Vereinigten Staaten: Burke (Idaho) Burke (Illinois) Burke (Kentucky) Burke (Louisiana) Burke (Stadt, New York) Burke (Dorf, New York) Burke (South Dakota) Burke… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • BURKE (E.) — Peu d’ouvrages non romanesques de langue anglaise connurent en leur temps un succès aussi immédiat, vif et étendu que ceux de Burke. Sa Recherche philosophique sur l’origine de nos idées du sublime et du beau, publiée en 1757 et fondant la… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Burke — Burke, NY U.S. village in New York Population (2000): 213 Housing Units (2000): 94 Land area (2000): 0.292184 sq. miles (0.756754 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.292184 sq. miles (0.756754 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Burke —   [bəːk],    1) Edmund, britischer Politiker und Publizist, * Dublin 12. 1. 1729, ✝ Beaconsfield (bei London) 9. 7. 1797; 1765 94 Mitglied des Unterhauses; betätigte sich zunächst als Privatsekretär von Lord Rockingham, dem Führer einer Gruppe… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Burke — Burke, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Burked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Burking}.] [From one Burke of Edinburgh, who committed the crime in 1829.] 1. To murder by suffocation, or so as to produce few marks of violence, for the purpose of obtaining a body to be… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Burke, NY — U.S. village in New York Population (2000): 213 Housing Units (2000): 94 Land area (2000): 0.292184 sq. miles (0.756754 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.292184 sq. miles (0.756754 sq. km) FIPS… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Burke, SD — U.S. city in South Dakota Population (2000): 676 Housing Units (2000): 385 Land area (2000): 0.558653 sq. miles (1.446905 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.558653 sq. miles (1.446905 sq. km) FIPS …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Burke, TX — U.S. city in Texas Population (2000): 315 Housing Units (2000): 138 Land area (2000): 0.628131 sq. miles (1.626852 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.628131 sq. miles (1.626852 sq. km) FIPS code:… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Burke, VA — U.S. Census Designated Place in Virginia Population (2000): 57737 Housing Units (2000): 19367 Land area (2000): 11.528917 sq. miles (29.859757 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.121595 sq. miles (0.314930 sq. km) Total area (2000): 11.650512 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Burke — (spr. Börk), Robert O Hara, geb. 1821 zu St. Clerans in Irland, trat in österreichische Militärdienste, kehrte aber 1848 in sein Vaterland zurück, wo er bei der berittenen Polizei angestellt wurde; nach einigen Jahren ging er nach Australien u.… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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