In asseveration, the proper method is to use the words, “Hope to die if I don’t,” the speaker drawing the forefinger across the throat from ear to ear.
Biddeford, Me.

In asseveration, the proper method is to use the words, “Hope to die if I don’t,” the speaker drawing the forefinger across the throat from ear to ear.
Source: Current Superstitions (1896), entry 64.
Fanny D. Bergen, editor.
Modern normalized navigation; the historical attribution above remains unchanged.