to walk the plank
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To be put to the supreme test; also, to be about to die Walking the plank was a mode of disposing of prisoners at sea, much in vogue among pirates in the 17th century.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to walk the plank” mean?
To be put to the supreme test; also, to be about to die Walking the plank was a mode of disposing of prisoners at sea, much in vogue among pirates in the 17th century.
Is “to walk the plank” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.