Burton [1940s] To go for a Burton first appears in RAF slang in the 1940s, when it was used to mean ‘be killed in a crash’. The most plausible explanation is that it was a reference to going for a pint of Burton beer. Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, England, was a well-known centre of the brewing industry from the mid 19th century. Another suggestion is that it referred to a suit from the British men’s clothing firm Burton’s, but there is no known record of to ‘go for a Burton’s suit’, as you might expect if this were the origin of the phrase, and ‘gone for a pint’ is a much more likely euphemism for a young man’s sudden death, but we have no clear evidence for its origin.