a short drop and a sudden stop

alternative a quick drop and a sudden stop

1. idiomaticA fall to one's death by hanging.

   I see, in other words, a short drop and then a sudden stop?

   1923, Austin B Griffin, Reports of Cases Heard and Determined in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, volume 203, page 885

   3 more examples

   I intend to see to it that any man who sails under a pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets what he deserves: A short drop and a sudden stop.

   2003, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

   > But, yeah, the death penalty is a little stiff just for pretentious writing. > Punning now… it’d be a capital idea, there. Let’s not start _that_ row. Give it a quick drop and a sudden stop, rather than letting them hang…

   2005 January 8, “Bookman”, alt.fan.heinlein (Google group): Clarke Survives Tsunamis

   If you were lucky enough to survive all this lunacy, you always risked capture. There your story would end with a quick drop and a sudden stop, for piracy was punishable by hanging.

   2006 Hirchak, John Hirchak. Ghosts of Old Wilmington, page 27 (The History Press; →ISBN)