The rope broke when they hanged James Greenacre at Newgate prison in 1837.
But little sympathy was shown for the murderer, who had hacked up his
victim and buried sections of the lady in various parts of London.
Stevedores, in fact, promptly adopted the killer’s name to indicate the
falling of cargo. Whenever rope slings broke while goods were being loaded
or unloaded, the cry Greenacre! Went up along the docks.