kill

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

(Dutch kil.)


A channel, or arm of the sea; a stream; river. This Dutch appellation is still preserved in several instances; thus the channel that separates Staten Island from Bergen Neck, is called the Kills; to which we may add the names Schuylkill and Catskill, applied to streams.

to kill

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.'

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