dance on nothing

English

Verb

dance on nothing (third-person singular simple present dances on nothing, present participle dancing on nothing, simple past and past participle danced on nothing)

  1. (dated) To be hanged.
    • 1849, A. H. Baker, “Hang the Black Rascal”, in The Prisoners' Friend:
      Oh! Do hang him-we have waited
      Many a day for such a chance;
      Let the hempen cord be baited;
      See how gracefully he'll dance
      Dance on nothing! oh, how funny! […]

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for dance on nothing under dance in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913)

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