Last month, a most peculiar word, dotakyan, popped up repeatedly in the media in reference to former Beatle Paul McCartney, who was forced to cancel his entire schedule of concerts due to health concerns.

Mainstream news organizations reported this as 全公演中止が決まった (zen kōen chūshi ga kimatta, it was decided to cancel all the performances). But many reports and blogs on the Internet used ドタキャン (dota-kyan), which the authoritative 広辞苑 (Kōjien) dictionary defines thusly: 「どた」は土壇場、「キャン」はキャンセルの略。直前になって約束を破棄する意の俗語 ("Dota" wa dotamba, "kyan" wa kyanseru no ryaku. Chokuzen ni natte yakusoku wo haki suru i no zokugo, abbreviations of dota for dotamba, and kyan for cancel: slang meaning to break a promise or appointment immediately beforehand.)

Originally a dotamba was a slanted platform of packed dirt in front of which was a shallow pit, where criminals were executed by decapitation until the early Meiji Period (1868-1912). Dotamba are no longer in use, but the word has survived in figurative usage to mean the eleventh hour or last minute. For instance, 土壇場で逃げる (dotamba de nigeru) would be to make a last-minute escape.