Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to ejaculate semen; cite 1836 may suggest the thrusts of intercourse rather than ejaculation.

a.1704		T. Brown Upon a Lady’s being Disappointed in Works (1760) I 67: The lavish Hero fir’d too fast [...] That when three poor attacks were past / He wanted ammunition.
1710		C. Shadwell Fair Quaker of Deal III ii: I’d have you take care who you ravish [...] you may fire a great many Guns betwixt Wind and Water before you can make any one of them leaky.
1785		‘Roger Ranger’ Covent Garden Jester 20: Cast off all the tackling about the breech [...] that uncovers the touch hole. Next get the breech down upon the bed, then you have the muzzle high enough for close work [...] lastly take your rammer in your hand, thrust home, discharge, that completes the business for the present, till you are ready to fire again.
1797		Bridges Burlesque Homer (4th edn) I 159: The whoring rascal, safe and sound, / Prepares to fire a double round.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum n.p.: I fired into her keel upwards; my eyes and limbs jack, the crown office was full; I s--k-d a woman with her a-se upwards, she was so drunk, that her head lay on the ground.
1825		Age (London) 24 July 85/1: John Walpole, that selfish self lover, / No longer ‘au palais’ mounts guard, / For he’s scarce time to fire and recover, / Little ***********’s duty’s so hard.
1836		The Ramrod and the Balls‘’ in Gentleman’s Private Songster in Spedding & Watt (eds) Bawdy Songbooks (2011) III 381: She said his firing was delightful / [...] / She begg’d he not leave off his shooting.
1842		‘Nancy Dawson’ in Nancy Dawson’s Cabinet of Songs 10: Then cried my lads, come fire away, / Spank into Nancy Dawson.
1884		Randiana 120: I found that it was my own sister I was rogering. I had, unluckily, got to that point where no man or woman could cease firing.
1890–1904		Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.
1893		‘Bob Sterling’ Town-Bull 61: ‘Oh, he is ready to fire’ [...] and the lecherous priests engulphed it in my dear whore’s slippery cunt.
1902		D. St John Memoirs of Madge Buford 105: In a jiffy I was on the bed with a nice, young cock working in me. Then fire, bang, and another was promenading in my Rue-Rouge [anglice Red Road].
1976		D. Ireland Glass Canoe (1982) 191: With those two little hands she worked on a friend of mine for a minute or two just to see what it looked like firing under water.
2015		I. Welsh Decent Ride 33: So ah’m thinkin aboot lassies '[...] ah fired intae bareback that weekend.

2. (Aus./US, also fire out) to eject, in a non-institutional context.

1882		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 4 Feb. 2/3: That [...] brought down the act drop and the ushers as well, who promptly fired him [i.e. a heckler] out.
1882		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 11 Mar. 7/2: [T]he bogus Oscar [Wilde] was fired, neck and heels, lily and all.
1889		Kipling ‘Shadow of His Hand’ in Civil & Military Gaz. 2 Aug. (1909) 39: The old man did not see the merits of Lot when he went sparking after the girl . He fired Lot off the stoop three or four times.
1890		Bulletin (Sydney) 12 July 12/1: [The] solicitor wrote to the bereaved citizen telling him that there was £3 8s. due for two weeks’ rent of his own house, which sum had better be paid promptly if he didn’t want to be fired out in the street.
1891		J.A. Riis How the Other Half Lives 22: ‘Damma, man!’ he said: ‘if you speaka thata way to me, I fira you and your things in the streeta.’ And the frightened Italian paid the rent.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 22 Apr. 8/4: His jewellery was gone and he had been ‘fired’ out of the cab.
1899		Eve. News 10 Feb. in Ware (1909) 131/1: Then they thought his objection to the spending of £20 on a lecture – and its necessary or needful accompaniments on the interesting and entertaining subject of ‘ Bacteriology’ too much of a good thing, so they had him ‘ fired’ from the meeting.
1916		‘A-No. 1’ Snare of the Road 47: I had to thank a lanky cowboy for getting fired off the cars at Rexford.
1927		‘Jargon of the Und.’ in DN V 446: Fire, To throw a man off a train.

3. (orig. US, also fire out, get the fire, give someone the fire) to dismiss from a job, to throw out or expel.

1871		Overland Monthly (CA) Mar. 285: The thought that I was fired by some stranger [DA].
1879		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 13 Dec. 11/1: Unless he knows the vagrant to be a ‘beat’ he is loth to refuse him a meal. When the food is eaten [but not paid for] the only satisfaction left to the victim is to ‘fire out’ the tramp.
1879		Cincinnati Enquirer 7 Sept. 10/7: Fired, Banged, Shot Out—When a performer is discharged he is one of the above.
1887		M. Roberts Western Avernus (1924) 143: I nearly fired him the first morning [...] I thought he wasn’t any good.
1896		S. Crane George’s Mother (2001) 119: Fired? Outa work? Why—George?
1900		Punch 21 Feb. 141/1: You come loafing around Montreal as if it belonged to you, and then you can’t pay your board bill. Why, I’ve half a mind to fire you out myself.
1909		E. Pound letter 3 Feb. in Paige (1971) 7: Deer Bill: May I quote ‘Steve’ on the occasion of my own firing: ‘Gee!! Wish I wuz fired!’.
1911		S. Ford Torchy 6: The stiff gives me the fire. He said I was too fresh.
1911		B. Fisher Mutt & Jeff 25 Dec. [synd. cartoon] A story about a guy getting fired out of the subway for carrying a dog.
1911		E. Dyson ‘At the Opera’ in Benno and Some of the Push 92: ‘You blighted ass, they’ll fire you out in half a tick, and serve you good,’ said the man on his right.
1913		Sport (Adelaide) 25 Oct. 8/1: They Say [...] That The long cads Tom and Bernie must have got the fire from the Yatala fitters .
1913		S.F. Bulletin 10 Mar. 17: The Texas boy, who refuses to stay fired, just put one over on the public, not forgetting the Sox at the same time.
1922		Joyce Ulysses 573: Corley, at the first go-off, was inclined to suspect it was something to do with Stephen being fired out of his digs for bringing in a bloody tart off the street.
1926		Van Vechten Nigger Heaven 192: Dis one jes’ lately been worn by a jig dat’s fired.
1937		E.H. Sutherland Professional Thief in Hamilton (1952) 109: A man is fired only if he jeopardizes the others.
1946		Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues 64: ‘Fire that girl,’ he told me. ‘Get her out of here.’.
1957		Kerouac On The Road (1972) 66: We might get fired for this and never get to Okinawa.
1968		N. Heard Howard Street 53: When Mr Anderson fired me, I just smiled.
1972		D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 35: Maybe you’ll be divorced and fired before the book comes out.
1981		Beano 14 Feb. 19: That does it! You’re fired.
1993		S. Armitage ‘Hitcher’ in Book of Matches 46: One more sick-note, mister, and you’re finished. Fired.
2000		Observer 9 Jan. 24: I can get you fired.
2007		N. McCall Them (2008) 133: [of a relationship] Nell said good-bye, and Barlowe left. It was the first time she fired him.
2010		K. Richards Life 23: She drove the van into a wall when she was using it illegally to visit a friend, and they still didn’t fire her.
2020		(con. 1991-94) W. Boyle City of Margins 190: ‘You’re gonna get fired. Sechiano’s gonna hand you your ass’.

4. (drugs) to inject a drug.

1914		Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Sl. 41: I must drop into the hotel donegan (lavatory) and fire (take a hypodermic injection), for I feel my habit coming on.
1936		D. Maurer ‘Argot of the Und. Narcotic Addict’ Pt 1 in AS XI:2 121/1: To fire. To inject dope from a hypodermic.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1953		Anslinger & Tompkins Traffic In Narcotics 308: fire. To inject drugs with a hypodermic needle.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 32: He drew up the amber solution into the syringe’s slender barrel. He was ready to fire.
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 9: Fire — [...] to inject a drug.
2002		Simon & Burns ‘Game Day’ Wire ser. 1 ep. 9 [TV script] This ain’t shit. It’s fucking Arm and Hammer. We’ve just been firin’ baking soda.

5. (US, also set fire to) to light a cigarette or marijuana cigarette (cf. fire up v. (3a)).

1945		R.L. Bellem ‘Ruby Ransom’ Hollywood Detective Dec. 🌐 I fired a coffin nail.
1947		S.J. Perelman ‘Farewell, My Lovely Appetiser’ in Keep It Crisp 9: I [...] set fire to a cigarette.
1952		W.D. Overholser Fabulous Gunman 79: He fired his cigarette.
1992		J. Mowry Way Past Cool 61: He suddenly wanted another beer, but fired one of Deek’s Shermans instead.
1999		T. Dorsey Florida Roadkill 33: Sharon [...] fired a joint with the crystal lighter.
2013		K. Shea ‘Having Chiqui’ in ThugLit July-Aug. [ebook] Muzz fired a fat piunch. Sweet-tasting Canadian hydro.

6. (US black) to strike a blow.

1968		‘Sl. of Watts’ in Current Sl. III:2 24: Fire, v. To hit someone, or something.
1971–2		C. Shafer ‘Catheads [...] and Cho-Cho Sticks’ in Abernethy Bounty of Texas (1990) 204: fire, v. – to hit someone or to get hit: ‘The BT will fire you (hit you).’.

7. (Aus.) to excel, to perform well.

1985		Tracks (Aus.) Apr. 3: A short note to tell you, your mag fires [Moore 1993].
1992		M. Coleman Fatty 102: ‘We knew then we had a real game on our hands but we just didn’t fire on the day’.
1996		(con. 1964-65) B. Thorpe Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 133: She [i.e. a prostitute] was in the big game [...] firing big time.

8. (UK black) to prosper, to do well.

1997

N. Barlay Curvy Lovebox 64: Business firin’ yeah?

9. (US) to have sexual intercourse.

1997–2001

Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 fire v 1. to engage in coitus.

10. (UK Und.) to direct someone towards; to introduce.

2011

J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 55: Giles did fire Sonny onto an agreeable bank manager.

11. to move, to travel.

2013

Esquire 1 Sept. 🌐 Shortly going to fire up the battle cruiser and hit AB1 for the boozual.