what-for, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

what-for n.

also what-sort

[? abbr. of the question ‘what are you doing this to me/is this happening for?’]

a punishment, trouble, a fuss.

1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 26 Sept. 22/1: [S]omething like a cannon ball on the end of a broom-stick caught the budding co-respondent all over the countenance, flattening his nose completely, and destroying his starboard light. Jerry – for it was his nulla-nullah that had surprised Go-the-rig – now went in for the fun he had decided on, and after giving his enemy ‘what sort,’ he proceeded to knock his vagrant wife senseless.
1901		Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 18 Sept. 1/2: Had some back-blocker or struggling person owned them, ‘what for’ would have been dealt out, sharp and strong.
1916		N. Douglas London Street Games 79: Old mother roundabout / Knocking all the kids about – / Outside Elsie’s door. / Up comes Elsie with a great big stick / And lets her know what for.
1917		E. O’Neill In the Zone in Mayorga (1919) 193: I’ll show yer what for, yer bleedin’ sneak!
1924		Galsworthy White Monkey 169: Well! he had got what-for!
1938		X. Herbert Capricornia (1939) 354: There was a row about it. The people of the South wanted to know What For.
1949		R. Park Poor Man’s Orange 32: I’ve got a son as old as that feller there, and if I thought he was going around in a fancy white coat staring at naked women and calling it learning he’d get what for!
1960		N. Hilliard Maori Girl 142: I’d show him what-for soon enough.

In phrases

give someone what-for (v.) [a response to presumed SE query ‘what is that for?’]

1. (also give someone what, show someone what-for) to reprimand severely, to inflict severe pain or chastisement, esp. of an errant child.

1868		B. Hemyng Secrets of Turf 125: If you don’t take your hook instanter, I reckon I’ll give you what for with this bit of wood.
1873		Wkly Kansas Chief (Troy, KS) 27 Feb. 1/3: You rascal, you! I’ll show you what for!
1883		‘’Arry at the Royal Evening Fête’ Punch 28 July 38/1: They’ve their slang, I suppose, these Big Bobs, — jest as we say, ‘I’ll give yer what for!’.
1887		Cumberland Mercury (NSW) 5 Mar. 4/7: [T]he P’mattas gave ‘the family’ team wot for.
1894		H. Nevinson ‘Sissero’s Return’ in Keating Working Class Stories of the 1890s (1971) 63: Nor yet he wasn’t one o’ them greasy niggers as [...] don’t so much as wink ’owever ’ard yer give ’em what for.
1900		N.Y. Tribune 9 Dec. 5/1: [She] looks as if she could give you what for if she got her monkey up.
1912		Bulletin (Sydney) 19 Sept. 48/1: I lost a good umbrella once, and me brother – he’s a lot older than me – give me What For, I can tell yer!
1923		S. Stewart ‘The Contract of Corporal Twing’ in O’Brien & Cournos Best Short Stories 330: Lie doggo w’ile I give the bleeders wot for.
1943		R. Llewellyn None But the Lonely Heart 55: My feet’s just about wore off, they are. Proper giving me what for.
1956		H. Gold Man Who Was Not With It (1965) 290: What was my brag before Joy? How I gave my father what-for?
1976		J. Heller Good As Gold (1979) 383: Don’t give me what – I’ll give you what, you dummy.
1977		L. Heinemann Close Quarters (1987) 130: She [...] ran alongside for a way, giving us what-for and shaking her fist.
1981		A. Weller Day of the Dog 52: I reckon she’ll give ’im what for, when she finds out what ’e was doin’.
1992		M. Frayn Now You Know 83: She’s really giving the boys what for.
2000		Guardian Weekend 3 June 5: I suppose they’ll have to stop doing this now, in case Guy Ritchie gives them what for.

2. (also give someone what’s what) to attack physically, beat up.

1884		‘’Arry at a Political Pic-Nic’ Punch 11 Oct. 180/1: A noisy young Rad in a wideawake vanted to give him what for!
1892		Punch 26 Nov. 252: And if when a cove gits tight, / Or would give his donah wot-for on the Q.T.
1898		W. Pett Ridge Mord Em’ly 2: I sha’n’t be ’appy till we’ve give ’em what-for.
1907		J. London Road 105: We bad the immortal cinch on him, and if he got fresh, two or three of us would pitch on him and give him ‘what-for.’.
1923		E. O’Neill Hairy Ape Act VII: Shall we give him what’s what and put the boots to him?
1929		S. Ornitz Haunch Paunch and Jowl 8: We’ll give them what for any time they wants it.
1937		J. Curtis There Ain’t No Justice 180: Blimey, if I’d ’ve spoke to me old man like that he’d ’ve set about me and give me what for.
1938		J. Curtis They Drive by Night 182: Blokes working for railways dursn’t come into a caff unless they was four or five-handed. The other boys would’ve soon given them what for.
1956		J. Curtis Look Long Upon a Monkey 174: If he tried anything on, they’d give him whatfor.
1964		J. Thompson Pop. 1280 in Four Novels (1983) 394: You took on two pimps all by yourself, and gave ’em what-for.

3. of a man, to have sexual intercourse.

1958		A. Sillitoe Sat. Night and Sun. Morning 82: Some gypsy selling clothes pegs got hold of her mother and gave her what for.
1998		K. Sampson Awaydays 95: So basically, Elvis, Carty gives the bald skate what for while the other poor bitch is crying cos you can’t get a hard-on?

give — what-for (v.)

to talk eloquently about a given topic.

1900

Bulletin (Sydney) 14 Apr. 32/2: ‘Well, one night I wuz sittin’ in the back room givin’ the East what for, an’ all the ladies wus sittin’ round me sayin’, ‘Ho’ow verra naice!’ whenever I’d rip out a bunger of a lie about Jerusalem the ’oly city, an’ Bathsheba.