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)

(archaic, idiomatic) 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! […]
- 1831, David Erskine, James III […] :
  I would much rather be here, my lady, than dancing on nothing in the Hanging-wood, near Parkend

References

“dance”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

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