verb (common).—To get rid of; to put a stop to; and in a milder sense, ‘to run contrary to.’ [In the first instance the idea was associated with the throttling of bull-dogs to make them loose their hold; but the editor of a recent edition of the Slang Dictionary (Mr. Henry M. Sampson of The Referee) adds en parenthèse, ‘Of course by those who don’t know the scientific way used in canine exhibitions and dog-fights—of biting their tails till they round to bite the biter.’]
ENGLISH SYNONYMS. To shut off; to shunt; to fub off; to rump; to cold shoulder. For synonyms in a more emphatic sense, see FLOOR.
FRENCH SYNONYMS. Envoyer quelqu’un s’asseoir (popular: Cf., ‘to set one down’); arrêter les frais (‘to put a stop to proceedings’).
1818. COBBETT, Political Register, XXXIII., 72. The Duke’s seven mouths … made the Whig party CHOAK OFF Sheridan. [M.]
1848. New York Express, 21 Feb. (BARTLETT). In the House … of … Representatives. The operation of CHOKING OFF a speaker was very funny, and reminded me of the lawless conduct of fighting school-boys.
1864. Derby Day, p. 155. ‘That will do, mother,’ he said; ‘I think I have had my five shillings’ worth’; but the gipsy would not be CHOKED OFF until she had finished the patter she had learnt by heart.
1870. London Figaro, 26 Nov. The hair-oil vendor was proceeding in this strain of eulogium on the virtues of his particular invigorating application when he was gently but firmly CHOKED OFF.
1883. Graphic, July 7, p. 11, col. 2. English dealers attend these fairs with the object of purchasing these noble-looking animals, but prices have now risen to £20 per head, and the English demand is being CHOKED OFF.
