walking a plank

The Sailor's Word-Book

An obsolete method of destroying people in mutiny and piracy, under a plea of avoiding the penalty of murder. The victim is compelled to walk, pinioned and blindfolded, along a plank projecting over the ship's side, which, canting when overbalanced, heaves him into the sea. Also, for detecting whether a man is drunk, he is made to walk along a quarter-deck plank.

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