Pall Mall

pall 1 |pôl|
noun
1 a cloth spread over a coffin, hearse, or tomb.
? figurative a dark cloud or covering of smoke, dust, or similar matter : a pall of black smoke hung over the quarry.
? figurative something regarded as enveloping a situation with an air of gloom, heaviness, or fear : torture and murder have cast a pall of terror over the villages.

Actually it was named after a ball game but it always has more of an air of the dictionary definition to me.