Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to inform, to explain to someone.

1905		R. Beach Pardners (1912) 107: I cast the bad eye on the boys to wise ’em up.
1908		Hopper & Bechdolt ‘9009’ (1909) 8: I’ll wise you to a thing or two.
1914		R. Lardner ‘Horseshoes’ in Coll. Short Stories (1941) 263: Speed didn’t know he’d hit it till the guys on the bench wised him up.
1926		J. Black You Can’t Win (2000) 58: Keep her away from the other women. They’ll wise her up an’ you’ll lose her.
1930		J.T. Farrell ‘Curbstone Philosophy’ in Short Stories (1937) 217: We wisens up all de lads to it.
1931		R. Whitfield ‘About Kid Deth’ in Penzler Pulp Fiction (2007) 287: I [...] stopped in to get Andy to wise me to what Rands had been spilling.
1936		C. Drew ‘Nosey’ in Bulletin 24 June 28/2: ‘You needn’t tell no one that you wised me up’.
1937		J. Curtis You’re in the Racket, Too 40: He’s called Dickie something or another. I never got wised up to his second name.
1940		E. O’Neill Iceman Cometh Act I: Say, Cora, wise me up. Which end of a cow is de horns on?
1956		N. Algren Walk on the Wild Side 130: If that pimp of hers had a saltspoon of sense in his head [...] he’d wise her up.
1961		T. Taylor Baron’s Court All Change (2011) 15: [T]he fellow who’d really wise me up [...] was my Uncle Jim, the communist.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 232: The black bastard has wised up the whole family.
1975		E. Torres Carlito’s Way 18: Earl Bassey wised me up.
1989		Beano Comic Library No. 182 58: Well, I’ll soon wise him up!
2005		Guardian Society 13 July 🌐 Prison wises you up. ’Cause you meet people in there [...] and then they’ll just say to you ‘this is what you should do.’.

2. (US Und.) to recognise.

1904

Salt Lake Herald (UT) 19 Oct. 5/1: He’s showed up to the other elbows and two wise to him as a gope cracker.

3. to (begin to) understand, to appreciate; also to start acting sensibly, to cease being stupid; often as imper. wise up.

1914		R. Lardner You Know Me Al (1984) 36: I guess he is wiseing up that I got the goods.
1921		N. Putnam West Broadway 72: I says. ‘Come in, Tom, and get the razoo over with!’ And razoo was right. When Jim was wised up to the facts he hit the ceiling.
1929		Phila. Inquirer 16 June n.p.: To ‘stick out one’s neck’ is to commit an unpardonable error, to lay one’s self open to criticism, [...] A persistent offender should ‘wise up.’.
1949		N. Algren Man with the Golden Arm 124: For even though he did wise up there wasn’t a thing [...] to be done about it.
1951		N. Algren Chicago: City On the Make 67: Wise up, Jim.
1953		W. Brown Run, Chico, Run (1959) 33: We’re supposed to be catting up in case the nabs have wised up to us and you make such a row maybe the neighbours call the cops.
1961		M. Braly Felony Tank (1962) 148: Kids don’t always think like that, Bob. They wise up after awhile.
1975		E. Torres Carlito’s Way 44: Wise up, turkey.
1981		A.K. Shulman On the Stroll 108: He learned many things that year he turned twelve and wised up.
1991		F. Mac Anna Last of the High Kings 12: The same thing would happen to them if they didn’t wise up.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 51: My pal wised up and cottoned on to the fact that you can’t beat those establishment fuckers at their game.
2011		G. Hayward Corruption Officer [ebk] cap. 45: I wouldn’t know what to do if they wised up and decided that their life was worth something and did something for themselves.
2021		J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 255: Robbie said, ‘Its about Janey, right?’ Max said, ’Robbie’s wising up’.