▪ I. kill, n.1
(kɪl)
Also 3 cul (ü).
[f. kill v.]
† 1. A stroke, blow. Obs. rare—1.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 128 Ase swin ipund ine sti uorte uetten, & forte greaten aȝein þe cul of þer eax. |
2. a. The act of killing an animal hunted as game.
| 1852 R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour ix. 48 A run with a kill. 1883 E. Pennell-Elmhirst Cream Leicestersh. 404 The second run..led to a charming scamper, with a clean kill at the end. 1890 Sir R. Payne-Gallwey Lett. to young Shooters 145 note, In all-round shooting, fifteen kills to twenty shots is rarely done. |
b. Phr. in at the kill: present at the killing of an animal; also transf. and fig.
| 1814 Prince William Let. 18 Feb. in P. Ziegler King William IV (1971) ix. 115 The game is up with Bonaparte and I shall be in at the kill. 1969 Amer. Heritage Dict. s.v., In at the kill, present at the moment of triumph. |
c. Lawn Tennis and Rackets. The striking of a ball in such a way that it cannot be returned. Cf. kill v. 7 a.
| 1903 Westm. Gaz. 31 Aug. 8/1 Grant put in some mighty ‘kills’ from the service line. 1908 Baily's Mag. June 483/1 They both of them fairly bombarded the wall, often..bringing off beautifully low ‘kills’. 1920 W. T. Tilden Lawn Tennis 87 The server covers and strives for a kill at once. 1969 New Yorker 14 June 68/2 Graebner delivers a Wagnerian kill. The ball digs a hole in the turf near Ashe's left foot. |
d. The destruction or putting out of action of an enemy aircraft, submarine, etc.; the aircraft, etc., so destroyed. colloq.
| 1944 Times 7 Mar. 2/3 The men of this station..can show plenty of evidence of ‘kills’. 1951 N. Monsarrat Cruel Sea v. vi. 360 But this was to be no swift kill: perhaps, indeed, it was to be no kill at all. 1962 Daily Tel. 20 July 1 (headline) Atlas rocket ‘kill’ by anti-missile. 1969 G. Macbeth War Quartet 60 We had sailed five weeks Without a kill. 1971 Daily Tel. 22 Nov. 7 (caption) Mr H. M. Stephen..examining..parts of a Messerschmitt 109 fighter which, as a pilot officer, he shot down on Nov. 30, 1940, while operating from Biggin Hill. It was the wartime base's 600th ‘kill’. |
e. Boxing. (See quots.) colloq.
| 1950 J. Dempsey Championship Fighting xxv. 200 His opponent will be after him quickly for ‘the kill’—for the knockout. 1954 F. C. Avis Boxing Reference Dict. 61 Kill, a knock out. |
3. A killed animal, esp. one killed by sportsmen or by beasts of prey.
| 1878 J. Inglis Sport & Work xxi. 287 In beating for tiger,..the appearance of the kill..often affords valuable indications to the sportsman. 1893 F. C. Selous Trav. S.E. Africa 424, I cherished a hope that the lions..would return and drive the hyænas off their kill. |
4. kill ratio U.S., the proportion of casualties on each side in a military action.
| 1968 N.Y. Times 11 Aug. i. 3 Those Nigerians who had escaped the cross-fire had fled northward into the forest, leaving behind 41 dead, the Biafrans said. They put their own losses at three killed and a dozen wounded. The lieutenant was pleased with the kill ratio. 1973 New Yorker 17 Feb. 89/1 Our military..can produce sickeningly effective ‘kill ratios’. |
Add: [4.] kill zone = killing zone (a), (b) s.v. *killing vbl. n. 1 b.
| 1981 Defense & Foreign Affairs Dec. 29/3 Producers are looking for higher speeds which mean getting the vehicle away from the *kill-zone more quickly. 1983 Washington Post 4 Oct. b4/4 Repeatedly, the agents practice trying to hit the ‘kill zone’—the torso or head. 1991 T. Dupuy How to defeat Saddam Hussein vi. 77 The Iraqis lay out their minefields so as to require the attacker to concentrate his armor into an open ‘kill zone’. |
▪ II. kill, n.2 U.S. local.
(kɪl)
[a. Du. kil, MDu. kille river-bed, channel.]
A stream, ‘creek’, or tributary river: so called in parts of N. America originally settled by the Dutch (esp. in place-names, as Schuylkill).
| 1669 Pennsylv. Archives I. 29 A Certain Island..lying and being in a Kill which runnes into the Scholekill. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 494 A little pleasant stream, called Eusopus kill or creek. 1879 J. Burroughs Locusts & W. Honey 169 Kills and dividing ridges. |
▪ III. kill, n.3
(kɪl)
Also kil.
[a. Ir. and Gael. cill, OIr. cell (a. L. cella cell), cell, church, burial place (esp. as first element of place-names).]
The cell of an old Celtic monk or hermit; an ancient Irish or Scottish church.
| 1827 G. Higgins Celtic Druids 190 Ripon..where was a kil or cel of the Culdees in the time of Bede. 1851 H. Newland The Erne 191 It once contained a cell, or kill, and is the real Enniskillen. |
▪ IV. kill, n.4
Also kiln.
[Origin unascertained.]
On the Thames: An eel-trap or weel.
| 1630 in Descr. Thames (1758) 66 No Fisherman..shall lay any Weels called Kills in any Place of the River. 1879 in N. & Q. 5th Ser. XI. 245 Kiln, an eel-trap, called also a ‘weel’ or ‘weal’. In use on the Thames. |
▪ V. kill, v.
(kɪl)
Pa. tense and pple. killed (kɪld). Forms: α. 3–4 culle(n, kulle(n(ü). β. 4 kille(n, 4–5 kylle, 6 kyll, 6–7 kil, 6– kill. γ. 5–6 kelle. δ. Sc. 5–6 kele, keill. pa. tense 3–4 culde, 4–6 kild(e, 5 kyld(e, (5–6 kelit, etc.); 4– killed. pa. pple. 4 (y-)culled, (i-)kilde), y-keld, 4– killed (5–6 kyld, kelyt, keild, etc., 6 kylt, 6– kilt).
[Of obscure origin; not found in the cognate langs.
If in OE., its type would be *cyllan, conjecturally referred to an OTeut. *kuljan, ablaut-variant of *kwaljan, whence OE. cwellan to quell; but the original sense is against this. Known first in Layamon, and in southern texts, in form cüllen, küllen. In midl. dial. normally kille(n, kill, the common form in ME.; kelle is rare. The usual Sc. form in 15–16th c. was kele, keill, the vowel of which is difficult to account for. In ME. the pa. tense and pa. pple. varied between killed and kild; exceptionally the pple. appears as kilt (cf. spilt), now regarded as an Irishism, and sometimes used jocularly, esp. in sense 6 b.]
† 1. a. trans. To strike, hit; to beat, knock. Also with off, and absol. or intr. Also fig. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 20319 Ofte me hine smæt mid smærte ȝerden; ofte me hine culde; swa me deð crosce. a 1225 Ancr. R. 126 Þauh a word culle þe [= thee] ful herde up o þine heorte. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 876 We kylle of þyn heued. a 1375 Joseph Arim. 545 He starte vp and streiȝte to his hache, culles on mennes hedes þat þei doun lyen. |
† b. To cast or throw out; to clear out.
(For a similar connexion between the notions of striking and throwing, cf. the senses of G. schlagen (Da. slaa) slay, and schmeissen (Da. smide) smite.)
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 346 Auh to hire owune schrift-feder, oðer to summe oðre lif-holie monne: ᵹif heo mei hine habben, kulle al ut þet is iðe krocke [v.r. culle al þe pot ut]. |
2. a. To put to death; to deprive of life; to slay, slaughter. In early use implying personal agency and the use of a weapon; later, extended to any means or cause which puts an end to life, as an accident, over-work, grief, drink, a disease, etc.
| α c 1330 King of Tars 179 The Sarazins withouten fayle The Cristene culde in that batayle. 13.. Song Yesterday 146 in E.E.P. (1862) 137 Ȝif þi neiȝebor þe manas, Oþur to culle, oþur to bete. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 185 Thouȝ we culled [C-text 199 hadde ycullid] þe catte, ȝut sholde þer come another. Ibid. xvi. 137 Thei casten & contreueden To kulle hym whan þei miȝte. |
| β c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 53 Yche other for to kylle With blody speris. 1382 Wyclif Luke xx. 15 This is the eyr, sle we him... And thei killiden him. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VIII. 5 At Wycombmalban þey were i-kilde [v.r. y-keld]. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1343 Þaire kyng was kylt. 1538 Starkey England i. iii. 98 Commynly they be other kyld where they are brede or sold. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. v. 26 What art thou, that telst of Nephews kilt? 1632 Lithgow Trav. x. 479 Men are rather killed with the impatience they have in adversity, then adversity it selfe. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 758 Orpheus..Whom ev'n the savage Beasts had spar'd, they kill'd, And strew'd his mangled Limbs about the Field. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 358 This terrible blast..instantly kills all those that it involves in its passage. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xlv, He was killing himself by late hours and intense application. 1895 Law Times C. 133/2 A man who had been killed at a level crossing by a railway train. |
| fig. 1614 A. Saul Game Chesse A iv b, But as they [pawns] march who so they finde doe in their colour stand, Such may they kill. |
| γ 1387 [see β]. a 1400 Octouian 1063 Thy fader hath keld Well many a bole and doun yfeld. c 1440 Partonope 1054 Kelle these peuple of fals lawe. 15.. in Bann. MS. lf. 145 a, Telyeouris ar tyrranis in kelling of lyiss. |
| δ c 1470 Henry Wallace vi. 651 His brothir Hew was kelyt thar full cald. 1508 Kennedie Flyting w. Dunbar 271 The feild, Quhair twelve thowsand trew Scottismen wer keild. 1572 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxiii. 46 Sair boistit thay my husband commoun-weill, And maid thair vowis and aithis him for to keill. a 1605 Montgomerie Misc. Poems lii. 29 Vncourtesly thus keill thay mo Than I. |
b. With adverbial extensions, as kill out (kill away, † kill down, † kill up), kill off, to cut off completely, to remove, extinguish, or get rid of (a number, a whole tribe, etc.) by killing.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 2377 Þe kyng of þaire kythe was killid doun & heded. c 1450 Holland Howlat 566 He..Kelit dovne thar capitanis. 1530 Palsgr. 598/2, I kyll up, as one that kylleth the resydewe where many have ben kylled afore. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 520 Although the fœcundity of Swine be great, yet it is better to kill off two or three,..then to permit them to suck their dam. 1641 Hinde J. Bruen xiv. 47 Hee presently killed up the game, and disparked the Parke. 1849 Tait's Mag. XVI. 90/1 The wars of the Roses killed them out. 1876 Tennyson Q. Mary iii. v, Sometimes I have wish'd That I were caught, and kill'd away at once Out of the flutter. 1894 H. Drummond Ascent Man 264 [Nature] produces fitness by killing off the unfit. 1966 R. M. Lockley Grey Seal, Common Seal x. 147 In New Zealand I saw how the red deer are killing out the young native forest trees in the South Island Alps. 1970 New Scientist 31 Dec. 576/1 Broilers are ‘killed out’ at eight weeks. 1972 Country Life 30 Nov. 1504/2 These small birds [sc. turkeys]..are killed out at 10–12 weeks of age. |
c. With complement expressing the result: to kill to († into, unto) death, to kill dead. (Cf. Ger. todtschlagen, Du. doodslaan.)
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 282 Poule þe apostil þat no pite ne hadde, Cristene kynde to kille to deþe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1734 The Grekes..kyld all our kynnesmen into colde dethe. 1614 Bp. Hall No Peace with Rome 21 (L.) In the popish churches..their very walls kill us dead. 1670 Cotton Espernon i. 1. 35 Some of the company..found the Horse..kill'd stone dead. 1700 Farquhar Constant Couple iv. ii, Are you sure you killed him dead? 1882 J. C. Morison Macaulay iii. 92 Bentley did kill his adversary dead. |
d. absol. To perform the act of killing; to commit murder or slaughter.
| 1535 Coverdale Exod. xx. 13 Thou shalt not kyll. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. iii. 8 Thou shalt haue a License to kill for a hundred lacking one. 1653 Holcroft Procopius, Pers. Wars i. 2 Which gives such force to the Arrow, that where it lights it kils. 1810 Sporting Mag. XXXV. 300 They killed in one of the new plantations near Blankney. 1883 W. Black in Harper's Mag. Dec. 64/2 They had not been ‘killing’ at any of the farms. |
e. intr. in passive sense: To be killed; to suffer killing. Of an animal: To yield (so much meat) when killed. Also, to kill out.
| 1857 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XVIII. i. 162 On inquiry of butchers..I find that one characteristic of a beast which kills well, is to have a little stomach. 1888 Whitby Gaz. 25 Feb. 4/7, I saw the cow in the slaughter-house... She killed 34 stones. 1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Apr. 364/1 The Southdown has the advantage over the Leicester in that its progeny are quicker maturing and kill out at prime weight and at an earlier age (3 to 4 months). 1971 Country Life 30 Dec. 1857/3 Limousin-sired fat cattle killed out at 68 per cent; far above our national average for our native breeds. |
f. trans. To procure (meat) by killing animals.
| 1560 Bible (Genev.) 1 Sam. xxv. 11 My bread, & my water, & my flesh that I haue killed for my sherers. 1689 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 511 The lords of the admiralty have sent orders..to kill beefe and pork for 65 men of war. 1838 James Robber vi, The beef was not killed at the end of the table. |
g. To represent as killed or as dead. to kill off: to remove the names of dead officers from the navy-list (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 1867).
| 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. I. iii. 199 note, Richer seems to kill him [Rolf] at Eu in 925. Mod. A novelist who always kills the hero in the last chapter. |
3. transf. a. To destroy the vitality of (any organism or organic substance), the activity of (a disease, etc.). Also, in later use, To destroy, break up, or ruin anything.
| 1530 Palsgr. 598/2, I kyll, as any freatynge medecyne kylleth deede flesshe. 1558 Warde tr. Alexis' Secr. (1568) 40 a, An oyntment to kill the plague. 1608 Topsell Serpents (1658) 725 With this they kill hair, for upon the place where the hair was puld off, they pour this bloud, and then it never groweth more. 1658 A. Fox Wurtz' Surg. ii. ix. 83 A Surgeon made experiment on him with the white of Eggs and Bole, whereby the Eye was killed. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 225 Tough Thistles choak'd the Fields, and kill'd the Corn. 1799 Young Agric. Lincs. 145 (E.D.D.) Potatoes have quite killed the land. 1872 Huxley Phys. i. 18 A burn may kill more or less of the skin. Mod. With us the fuchsia is killed down every winter, and so never grows to a shrub in the open air. |
b. To destroy the active quality of (a substance); e.g. the fluidity of mercury, the ductility of wire.
| 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 724 note, Some thinke that Quicke-silver cannot quite be killed. 1694 Salmon Bate's Dispens. (1713) 661/2 The Quick-silver, before it can be mixed with the other Ingredients, is to be killed with the Turpentine. 1865 Morn. Star 1 June, If the phosphorus had not been properly ‘killed’ by being mixed with gum, it would probably explode when chloride of potass was added. 1875 Ure's Dict. Arts III. 846 The lye will have lost its causticity, or, in technical language,..it is killed. 1876 Preece & Sivewright Telegraphy 177 The wire..to be then stretched (‘killed’) to the extent of two per cent. by passing round drums, either varying in diameter or differentially geared as to speed. 1881 Young Every man his own Mechanic §1406 Dampness in the air technically speaking kills the size, that is to say deprives it of its binding power. |
c. To neutralize the effect of.
| 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. (1865) 122 Indefinite quantities of black tea to kill any extra glass of red claret he may have swallowed. |
d. To consume; to eat or drink; spec. to empty (a bottle of liquor). colloq. (orig. U.S.).
| 1833 Sk. & Eccentr. D. Crockett xi. 145, I can kill more lickur..and cool out more men than any man you can find in all Kentucky. 1887 Lantern (New Orleans) 20 Aug. 2/2 The lady had killed a dozen [oysters]. 1934 J. T. Farrell Young Manhood xviii. 291 ‘We'll drink to that,’ said Fat. They killed the bottle. 1967 N. Fitzgerald Affairs of Death vii. 125 We drank with maudlin solemnity to Stella's memory, killing the bottle in the process. |
e. In printing or journalism, to cancel or delete (matter) before publication; to discard (type); to suppress or deny (a story, etc.). colloq. (orig. U.S.).
| 1865 Wilkes' Spirit of Times 16 Dec. 256/1 Two galleys of equal length, one being marked ‘Must’, the other ‘Kill this’. 1887 Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.) 29 Jan. 5/4 Please kill the deer story sent by Associated Press this morning. 1903 E. L. Shuman Pract. Journalism 62 The editor can make room by killing the last paragraphs of the other stories. 1929 [see copy-desk s.v. copy n. C]. 1938 E. Waugh Scoop ii. i. 133 We're killing this story... Go round to the Press Bureau and have Benito issue an official dementi. 1967 Karch & Buber Offset Processes ii. 40 ‘Dead’ ads are killed. 1972 Human World May 75 This is a dull and confused book. (We killed our review of it as not worth the space.) |
f. To turn off or stop (an engine, esp. the motor of a car). colloq. (orig. U.S.).
| 1886 Philadelphia Even. Tel. 20 Mar., The hose was cut..and engines killed so that it will take days to bring them to life again. 1907 E. S. Field Six-Cylinder Courtship 9, I lost no time in starting. What a blessing that I hadn't killed my engine! 1935 M. M. Atwater Murder in Midsummer iv. 41 Jim killed the engine and switched off the lights. 1971 D. MacKenzie Sleep is for Rich vi. 196, I moved the hired car into the cobbled courtyard... I killed the motor. |
g. Metallurgy. To treat (steel when molten) so as to prevent the evolution of oxygen on solidification (now done by adding a reducing agent: cf. killed ppl. a. 2 b); to remove (iron oxides) from the molten metal by this means.
| 1906 W. Macfarlane Princ. & Pract. Iron & Steel Manufacture iv. 46 Higher class steel requires ‘killing’—that is, it requires to be kept in the furnace for about half an hour..after it has become fluid and it must be poured at a proper temperature. 1918 A. W. & H. Brearley Ingots & Ingot Moulds x. 172 When cast steel was made by the crucible process..it was necessary to continue the heating, and..increase the temperature as far as possible, in order to ‘kill’ the steel. 1926 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. CXIV. 407 On account of the titanium alloy being of only 17 per cent. strength, it is not practicable to kill a heat of steel with titanium only. 1940 Simons & Gregory Steel Manuf. vi. 31 There are several ways of killing steel. One..is the addition in the ingot mould before teeming of about 0·02 per cent of metallic aluminium (Al) to the melt. 1969 R. Stephen Iron & Steel for Operatives xii. 56/1 All the iron oxide has been removed, or killed by de-oxidation, and has entered the slag in the ladle. |
h. To extinguish or obscure (a light); also, to extinguish (a cigarette). colloq.
| 1934 Tit-Bits 31 Mar. 12/1 ‘Niggers’ are not men of colour, but blackboards used to ‘kill’ unwanted reflections from the powerful lights. 1939 Evening News 7 Nov. 4/5 ‘Kill that baby and put a nigger in its place.’ (‘Put out that small spotlight and substitute a black screen’). 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 476/2 Kill (Cinema), colloquialism for extinguish lights. 1942 R. Chandler High Window (1943) xix. 135 She killed her cigarette in Morny's copper goldfish bowl, speared the crushed stub absently with the letter opener and dropped it into the waste-basket. 1959 M. Pugh Chancer 153 Could you kill that cigarette..? It's smouldering somewhere. 1967 J. Wainwright Worms must Wait lxxvii. 200 The window shattered and the lights were killed almost simultaneously. |
4. fig. a. To destroy, do away with, put an end to, suppress (a feeling, desire, project, or other non-material thing).
| 1435 Misyn Fire of Love 81 Well vsyd in prayinge..all wykkydnes kylland & vnclennes. 1573 Cartwright Repl. Answ. Admonit. 26 Sufficient to quench her thirst and kill her hunger. 1579–80 North Plutarch (1595) 236 Too sodaine honour in youth killeth further desire of fame. 1617 R. Wilkinson Barwick-bridge 22 Yea, warre and contention kill up even conscience it selfe. 1710 Tatler No. 191 ¶1 The monstrous Affectation of being thought artful, immediately kills all Thoughts of Humanity and Goodness. 1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles iv. 31 [He] detected his wife painfully endeavouring to kill a laugh. 1872 Liddon Elem. Relig. vi. 214 In the Jew of the age of Tiberius, the national feeling..had almost killed out the human. 1873 Black Pr. Thule xix, You have killed her faith as well as ruined her life. |
b. To neutralize, destroy, or spoil (an appearance or quality) by contrast or incongruity.
| 1859 Gullick & Timbs Paint. 117 The necessity of using body-colour, in order, by its opacity, to ‘kill’—using the painter's phrase—..the unpleasant hue of the photograph. 1877 J. C. Cox Ch. Derbysh. II. 378 The high blank walls..kill the grace of the lancet windows on the..sides of the chancel. |
c. Theatr. colloq. (See quot. 1952.)
| 1933 [see comedy1 2 c]. 1952 Granville Dict. Theatr. Terms 106 Kill a laugh, to start a fresh line before the laugh evoked by the preceding one has died down. |
d. Athletics. To put (a rival runner) out of contention in a race by setting a fast pace, or suddenly accelerating. Also with off.
| 1962 B. Hewson Flying Feet xi. 132 Derek..slowed the pace to a crawl, obviously hoping to use his finishing kick to kill off Mike and myself. 1968 G. Gretton Out in Front v. 74 He set a fast pace which ‘killed’ Heino, who collapsed and retired. |
5. To consume or spend (time, or any portion of time), so as to bring it to an end. Said of a person, or an occupation or amusement.
| 1728 Vanbr. & Cib. Prov. Husb. i. i, What think you, if we three sat soberly down to kill an hour at ombre? 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 578 It is ridiculous to see how many shifts are made to kill time, as it is called. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey i. v, A sawney who was killing the half-holiday by looking out of the window. 1874 L. Stephen Hours in Library (1892) I. ii. 64 Tapestry, in which ladies employed their needles by way of killing time. |
6. In hyperbolic use: To come near to killing. a. To overwhelm (a person) by a strong impression on the mind, as of admiration, astonishment, alarm, grief, etc.: to impress with irresistible force. Also, to convulse (someone) with laughter; to excite, thrill, delight.
| 1634 [see killing ppl. a. 2 c]. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 144 ¶1 If they [Handsom People] do not kill at first Sight, as the Phrase is, a second Interview disarms them of all their Power. 1712–14 Pope Rape Lock v. 68 Chloe stepp'd in and kill'd him with a frown. 1783 F. Burney Diary Jan., He behaves to me with a kind of deference that kills me. [1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain ii. viii. 414 Ethel saw Meta in fits of laughing... ‘Ethel! you will kill me!’ said Meta, sinking back on the sofa.] 1938 C. Calloway Hi De Ho 16 Kill me, show me a good time, send me. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §591/5 Delight the audience,..kill 'em. 1951 J. D. Salinger Catcher in Rye x. 82, I took her to see this French movie... It killed her. Ibid. 83 She killed Allie, too. I mean he liked her, too. 1960 C. Dale Spring of Love ix. 176 He kills me sometimes, the things he says. 1971 Melody Maker 13 Nov. 31/6 During the Elton John tour in the States, which was a gas, man, we killed them night after night. |
b. To injure seriously; to affect with severe pain or suffering.
| 1800 M. Edgeworth Castle Rackrent 158 My lady Rackrent was all kilt and smashed, and they lifted her into a cabin hard by..and they say my lady can't live any way. 1816 Jane Austen Emma III. vi. 106 Nothing killed him like heat—he could bear any degree of cold. 1824 C. K. Sharpe Corr. (1888) II. 303, I am so kilt all over with rheumatism, as Irishmen speak, that I can scarcely hold a pen. 1899 G. W. Peck Uncle Ike (1903) xix. 172 ‘Now wouldn't that kill you,’ said the boy... ‘That breaks up my scheme to fight the French.’ a 1953 E. O'Neill Long Day's Journey (1956) ii. i. 53 No wonder my feet kill me each night. 1962 J. Cannan All is Discovered i. 19 My feet are killing me anyway and this dam' strapless bra is rubbing me raw. Ibid. vi. 140 The ‘middy’-heeled shoes which after the long walk along the hot roads had been ‘killing’ her. 1965 J. Porter Dover Two v. 61 The long cold walk..did nothing to lighten Dover's mood. His feet were killing him. |
c. Used in the infinitive form after another verb with adverbial force = ‘to a great or impressive degree’; esp. in phr. dressed (got up, etc.) to kill, dressed showily or impressively. colloq.
| 1818 Keats Let. 23 Jan. (1958) I. 216 One chap was dressed to kill for the King in Bombastes. 1845 N.Y. Even. Express 5 Mar. 2/4 Mrs. Polk..dresses ‘to kill’. 1848 Bartlett Dict. Amer. 194 To do anything to kill, is a common vulgarism, and means to do it to the uttermost; to carry it to the fullest extent; as, ‘He drives to kill’; ‘she dances to kill’. 1862 J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers 2nd Ser. 36 'T was Concord Bridge a-talkin' off to kill With the Stone Spike thet's druv thru Bunker Hill. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 280 Got up to kill: on eighteen bob a week. 1957 N. Mitford Voltaire in Love xviii. 218 Mme du Châtelet..always took the part of the leading lady, dressed up to kill and covered with diamonds. 1970 G. W. Barrax in S. Henderson Understanding New Black Poetry (1973) iii. 358 Dress to kill Shoot to kill Love to kill If you will But write to bring back the dead. |
7. In various phrases. a. to kill a ball: (a) in tennis, to strike a ball so as to prevent it from being returned (see quot. 1883); (b) in football, to stop a ball dead.
| 1883 Daily News 26 June 6/6 Posting themselves close to the net, to intercept the ball as it came over, and by a severe downward stroke to hit it in such a manner that it could not possibly be returned—or, in other words, to ‘kill’ it. 1900 Ibid. 23 Apr. 8/1 The ball had come in from the right, and McLuckie killed it, and shot a goal. |
b. to kill a bill (in parliament): to defeat it totally; to prevent it from passing; to veto it.
| 1832 J. W. Croker in C. Papers 14 Apr. (1884), I have just had Haddington with me. He is confident of killing the bill. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. I. i. vi. 75 By ‘killing’ more bills than all his predecessors put together had done, Mr. Cleveland raised himself in public opinion. |
† c. to kill one's heart: to depress or discourage one completely. Obs.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. lviii, Fy vpon treason said sir Trystram, for hit kylleth my herte to here this tale. 1579–80 North Plutarch (1676) 343 For their hearts were killed, because..they were ever overthrown. 1654 Sir E. Nicholas in N. Papers (Camden) II. 124 To see us totally ruined rather then deale with people according to their deserts, it kills our harts. |
d. to kill with kindness: to destroy or fatally harm by mistaken and excessive kindness.
| c 1558 Enterlude of Welth, & Helth sig. D1v, With kindnes my her ye do kyll. 1582 G. Whetstone Heptameron of Civil Discourses sig. T4v, You will kill her with kindnesse. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. i. 211 This is a way to kil a Wife with kindnesse. 1607 T. Heywood (title) A woman kilde with kindnesse. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 100 Tom Coriat..was killed with Kindness by the English Merchants. 1698 Farquhar Love & Bottle iii. i, I bear her an amorous grudge still..I could kill her with kindness. 1761 G. Colman Jealous Wife iv. i. 67 You absolutely kill Him with Kindness. 1842 F. A. Kemble Let. 31 Mar. in Rec. Later Life (1882) II. 189 Lord Morpeth..has a..mother and sisters, and really should not, on their account, be killed with kindness. 1898 F. P. Dunne Mr. Dooley in Peace & War 38 ‘They'll kill him with kindness if he don't look out,’ said Mr. Hennessy. 1925 A. Huxley Along Road 61 The country..has not been killed by the deadly kindness of those who, like myself, are nature's townsmen. 1935 I. Brown Heart of England viii. 84 Now we purge by persuasion that new Beelzebub, the complex, or kill it by kindness. |
e. kill or cure, with reference to medical treatment or remedies, which either cure or prove fatal; also attrib., and absol. as n.
| 1764 Foote Mayor of G. i. Wks. 1799 I. 162 Your Worship knows, that, kill or cure, I have contracted to physic the parish-poor by the great. 1778 in James Diss. Fevers (ed. 8) 114 Dr. James's Powder, which I was determined to take, kill or cure. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 39 Asclepius..adopted the rough ‘kill or cure’ method. 1898 Folk-lore IX. 14 The Lebanon mother knows no other remedy than the kill-or-cure of a dip in the sea for her babe. |
f. to kill two birds with one stone: see stone n. 16 b.
g. Ironical phr. it won't (etc.) kill you (or him, us, etc.): that would not be too much to endure.
| 1858 Trollope Three Clerks I. vii. 130 ‘We are both used to that, I fancy,’ said Tudor, ‘so it won't kill us.’ 1913 J. Vaizey College Girl vi. 83 Suppose I ask them? Twopence three farthings each would not kill them! 1945 A. Kober Parm Me 123 Even if your father's gonna lay out a few dollars, O.K., so it's not gonna kill him! 1967 ‘G. North’ Sgt. Cluff & Day of Reckoning ii. 16 ‘You could have stopped in bed...’ ‘Lie there awake?’ ‘It wouldn't have killed you.’ ‘Getting my own breakfast didn't either.’ |
h. to kill the goods: in soap-making, to emulsify the melted fat by a partial saponification.
| 1885 W. L. Carpenter Treat. Manuf. Soap 167 The boiling, and the addition of fat and lye, must be continued until a small sample..has a tolerably firm consistence... Practice alone will enable the operator to judge of the completion of this first operation, called ‘pasting’. In English phraseology, it is called ‘killing the goods’ or raw material. 1888 J. Cameron Soaps & Candles 82 Saponification, pasting, or killing the goods. 1894 C. R. A. Wright Animal & Veg. Fixed Oils 468 The effect of the action of the hot ley on the melted fatty matter is to ‘kill the goods’—i.e., to emulsify the whole, so that no distinct layer of melted fat swims up on taking a sample. |
▪ VI. kill
obs. form of kiln.