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Origin of phrase
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Can anyone please tell me what is the origin of the phrase 'Gone for a Burton'?
Answers
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This should tell you: http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayings
g.htm#Gone%20for%20a%20Burton
g.htm#Gone%20for%20a%20Burton
I'm sure Ewood's link-site is correct about the connection with Burton beer, but - just as a matter of interest - if you click http://www.word-detective.com/041899.html#burton
you'll find another couple of theories. They're a lot less convincing, but perhaps worth knowing about at least.
Previous answers are at question 20349
but it looks like no one knows for sure.
As I remember, during WWII, the expression ''Went for a Burton'' referred to someone in the RAF who had been killed. The tailoring chain of Burton was among manufacturers who made 'demob suits' - civilian suits issued to people leaving the armed forces. If killed, a person would be considered (in a wry way) by his colleagues to have left the service, i.e. picked up his demob suit.
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