Fastest way to delete a large, deep directory in Linux

Per numerous references around the web, to delete /path/to/directory-to-delete/:


cd /path/to/
mkdir empty_dir
rsync -a --delete empty_dir/    directory-to-delete/
rm -r empty_dir
rm -r directory-to-delete

Disclaimer: this is for my own reference, not recommended for your use. Use it at your own risk. If I am wrong—and I may be—these commands can do tremendous damage to your system.