It occurred to "Old Grog" that, in view of the
ravages of yellow fever amongst the men of the Fleet, it would be
advisable, in the burning climate of the West Indies, to dilute
the blue-jackets' rations of rum with water before serving them
out. This was accordingly done, to the immense dissatisfaction of
the men, who probably regarded it as a forerunner of "Pussyfoot"
legislation. They at once christened the mixture "grog," after the
Admiral's nickname, and "grog" as a term for spirits and water has
spread all over the world, and is used just as much in French as
in English.
The origin of the expression "to burke an inquiry," in the sense
of suppressing or stifling it, is due to Burke and Hare, two
enterprising malefactors who supplied the medical schools of
Edinburgh with "subjects" for anatomical research, early in the
nineteenth century. Their procedure was simple. Creeping behind
unsuspecting citizens in lonely streets, they stifled them to
death by placing pitch-plasters over their mouths and noses. Burke
was hanged for this in Edinburgh in 1829.
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