firing squad
23
6.8
- noun
- /ˈfaɪərɪŋ skwɒd/
:
pelotón de fusilamiento
- All three are condemned to death by firing squad for rebelling against the government.
He went back there and was executed by a firing squad.
- He went back there and was executed by a firing squad.
- But the story involves somebody who is summoned before a firing squad to be executed.
- It's you remember when they did death by firing squad in Ohio like a couple years back?
- Anyone else think Jay should be shot by firing squad for his For him cursing this poor, beautiful queen?
Examples
-
They no longer execute people by firing squad, except for the people who were condemned before that law.
-
Mikal Gilmore's brother Gary was the infamous murderer executed by firing squad in Utah.
Blog text (3) -
It's death, by firing squad.
-
I stand before the firing squad at dawn.
-
Ten days later, he is executed by a firing squad.
Academic text (2003) -
For attempting to escape and killing a guard, you are sentenced to death by firing squad.
-
But the story involves somebody who is summoned before a firing squad to be executed.
-
Therefore, it is the pronouncement of this tribunal that you be executed by firing squad forthwith.
-
You've been formally charged with three counts of murder, the bombing of government property, conspiracy to commit terrorism, treason and sedition, the penalty for which is death by firing squad.
-
Five men are to face a firing squad for their actions against the state.
Synonyms
A group of soldiers who fire rifles as a funeral salute or for an execution
How Many
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a group of people who fire weapons' is directly compositional from 'firing' (discharge of a weapon) + 'squad' (a small military unit), so a learner who knows both words can infer that it denotes a unit that shoots. This construction and sense are literal and cross-linguistically common (units that 'fire' together), making it readily understandable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The noun firing squad comes from the simple image of a small group, or squad, of soldiers who all fire their rifles at the same time at one person or into the air as a salute. So the phrase means a group of soldiers chosen 'to kill someone as punishment' or 'to fire shots together as a funeral honor'.