tombstoning

n. 1. the use of the names and data of dead persons to commit fraud. 2. In the U.K., the pastime of leaping from heights into bodies of water. Subjects: English, United Kingdom, Crime & Prisons, Sports & Recreation

Editorial Note: There are many figurative uses of tombstone, most generally meaning an object takes on the shape or appearance of a tombstone, such as in journalism, where tombstoned headlines are similarly sized article headings published next to each other, which can cause confusion as to where one line ends and another ends. Tombstone ads are similar-looking legal and financial announcements published together. In electronics, to tombstone means to improperly solder components to a circuit board so that the components stand up incorrectly.

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Citations: 1969 Robert Keatley @ Leuong Qoui, South Vietnam Wall Street Journal (Sept. 8) “Changing the Guard” p. 20: The eight-man teams spend 60 to 90 days…preventing such abuses as “tombstoning” on the payroll (the Vietnamese commanders’ practice of collecting pay for dead or departed soliders, rather than replacing them). 1978 Alice Bonner Washington Post (A3) (July 21) “HEW Fraud-Fighter Asks the Senate To Shut Billion-Dollar Legal Loopholes”: Morris also told of recent indications that Medicaid, Social Security and other HEW claims are being filed in the names of dead persons. The subcomittee chairman, Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), called this “tombstoning.” 1990 Steve O'Baugh, Bryan Patterson Sun Herald (Australia) (June 10) “‘Ace’ Salesman In $8 Mil Sting” p. 29: It is believed part of Mohamed’s scam involved “tombstoning”—an illegal practice of signing the names of dead or fictitious people to life insurance policies and collecting an advance commission from the insurance company. 1995 Shenai Raif (Press Association) (U.K.) (Aug, 2) “Ice Demand ‘Unprecedented’ As Britain Carries On Sweltering”: They were among a group of six who were “tombstoning” at Stoke Point near Wembury—which involved leaping off Tombstone Rock into the sea below. 1995 Guardian (U.K.) (Aug. 3) “News In Brief—Cliff Craze Condemned” p. 6: Devon coastguards have condemned a dangerous new summer craze of “tombstoning,” which involves jumping off cliffs into the sea from higher and higher points, and which, they say, has been inspired by Pepsi Max advertisements. 2001 Adrian Humphreys National Post (Can.) (Dec. 20) “Dead children’s names used for fake IDs” p. A2: “This is completely taking over a dead person’s identity."…In the underworld, the process is called “tombstoning” because the names of dead children are often culled from cemeteries. 2003 Herald Express (U.K.) (Aug. 5) “‘Bombers’ Dice With Death” 4 ed., : The “tomb-stoning” youngsters, who are usually spotted diving off cliffs, have been leaping from a pier over the top of in-coming powerboats. 2005 Anna C. Irwin Daily Times (Maryville, Tenn.) (Nov. 3) “‘Tombstoning’ ex-trooper gets jail”: Stephen D. Parsley was sentenced late last month on two misdemeanor charges of tampering with governmental records after he issued multiple-offense citations to two individuals he knew were dead, a practice known as “tombstoning.”

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