What does it mean to spile a man?

Answer 1

I believe that to spile a man, as referenced by Dickens in "A Tale of Two Cities" referrs to "Tapping a man's stomach" to let certain things out as part of the "Hung, drawn and quartered routine. Use the definition of Spile as relating to a keg and substitute a person. The term is used in the chapter referring to and describing HDQ.

Answer 2

"Spile a man" is a term used in the logging industry to describe a process where a wooden plug, called a spile, is driven into a hole drilled in a tree to collect sap for making maple syrup. It is not a common or widely known phrase outside of this context.

Answer 3

Oh, dude, spiling a man is like, when you tap into his inner maple tree and start extracting some sweet, sweet sap... Nah, just kidding! Spiling a man actually means to pierce or puncture something, like a barrel or a cask. So, next time someone asks you to spile a man, just tell them you're busy puncturing some wood or something.