Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also give someone the by-go, ...the go-long, ...goobug) to reject, to avoid, to jilt, of a person or thing; thus get the go-by, to be rejected.

1672		J. Phillips Maronides (1678) V 3: Strangely ore-shot to let a Looby, / So treacherously give her the go-by.
1678		J. Ray Proverbs (2nd edn) 347: To give one the go-by.
1709		N. Ward Rambling Fuddle-Caps 13: I’ll not leave the young Rebel a Sous: By my Generous Living I’ll give him the Go-by.
1754		Caledonian Mercury 30 Dec. 2/1: Just as Favourite was come up to Old-Fox and would have given him the Go-by but for this fatal Accident, by which he lost [...] two Horse’s Lengths.
1785		R. Cumberland Natural Son III i: Mr. Latimer will give her the go-by.
1797		M. Robinson Walsingham IV 278: So you see, my dainty, I have nothing to do but to marry a golden dolly, or give my creditors the go-by, with a brace of barking irons.
1809		B.H. Malkin (trans.) Adventures of Gil Blas (1822) II 235: I will give the go-by to those rascally creditors.
1821		‘Battle’ in Fancy I XIX 449: The Backers being leary, gave Beak and trap the go-by, and brought their men to the scratch in a field in Kent.
1822		D. Carey Life in Paris 424: I thought, mayhap, she’d given me the go-by, and come home of herself, a purpose to spite me.
1830		J. Galt Lawrie Todd I Pt II 120: But giving such gabbing the go by, Squire, marlin spikes and cucumbers! I have a compulsion to call you squire.
1840		Flash Mirror 6: Gammoning or Magging. — Meeting a Yokel [...] persuading him to enter a public house with you [...] making him lushy, and tipping him the go-by.
1842		C. Mathews Career of Puffer Hopkins 135: Shall we give the cause of natyve genius the go-by; a sort of wink to a blind horse, instead of a nice nod of encouragement?
1848		Bartlett Dict. Americanisms.
1855		T. Haliburton Nature and Human Nature II 11: They don’t stop me, for I give them the go-by.
1858		‘A. Pendragon’ Queen of the South 21: If now [...] you felt inclined to give greenhorn yonder the go-bye, you and I might do a stroke this season.
1861		Hills & Plains I 11: He gave him the ‘go-by’ in the most ignominious manner.
1865		G.A. Sala My Diary in America I 224: [He] went away chuckling and rubbing his hands to think that he had given the moths the go-by.
1875		Wagga Wagga Advertiser (NSW) 23 Oct. 4/1: The younger ones could not quite realise why the elder brothers should all at once give them the ‘go by’ and soar into the glories of yachts at Cowes [...] and moors in Scotland, while to them was left the insignificant careers of struggling on, on an allowance of £400 a year.
1877		Illus. Sydney News 26 May 3/2: He has given the whole miserable farce miscalled ‘Government’ the ‘go-by’.
1886		R.L. Stevenson Kidnapped 74: There was a French ship cruising here to pick me up; but she gave us the go-by in the fog.
1886		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 19 June 14/3: Where were all the people below Fourteenth street on Decoration Day. Old ‘How to Get There’ said be would have them all, but they must have given him the ‘go by’.
1890		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer I 78: We couldn’t give the party the go-by anyhow, unless they went into their huts.
1892		Arbroath Herald 28 Apr. 2/5: ‘I would rather he had telled us what made him gie the go-by to Ezra’.
1901		W. Irwin Love Sonnets of a Hoodlum VIII: I sometimes think that I am not so good [...] That Fate has given me the calm go-by.
1904		Sun. Times (Perth) 3 Apr. 1/1: The bridegroom’s instructions were if pa refused to part handsomely the girlie would get the go-by.
1906		E. Pugh Spoilers 4: I didn’t want you to think, when you come out, as all your pals had give you the go-by.
1908		A.N. Lyons Arthur’s 290: So you [...] you are the the low measly ’ound what sailed to Bewnezerry an’ give Miss ’Opper the go by?
1914		‘Bartimeus’ ‘A One-Gun Salute’ in Naval Occasions 191: So she’d bilked him after all: given him the go-by for a Blue Marine!
1914		Truth (Melbourne) 3 Jan. 11/4: He gave her the glad eye. Martha gave him the go-bye [sic].
1915		Van Loan ‘Sporting Doctor’ in Taking the Count 21: After I’ve trimmed up the bunch, Brooks and Brady won’t have a chance to give me the go-by.
c.1921		T. Norman Penny Showman 2: I decided then and there to give the long hours of hard work of butchering a go by.
1922		Joyce Ulysses 596: It was better to give people like that the goby unless you were a blithering idiot altogether.
1925		L. Doyle Dear Ducks 20: It was in my mind, anyway, to give him the go-by till he was married an’ settled down.
1929		W.R. Burnett Little Caesar (1932) 230: ‘I can’t have you hanging around here no more’ [...] ‘Giving me the goobug, hunh?’.
1929		S. Ornitz Haunch Paunch and Jowl 252: You’re givin’ me the go-by. Please, Jack, don’t give me the go-by.
1930		E. Glyn Flirt and Flapper 79: Flapper: Now he’s given me the go-by for good.
1932		J. Dixon Free To Love 76: You give him the by-go, eh? It is well so.
1934		Z.N. Hurston Jonah’s Gourd Vine (1995) 152: Dey got me in de go-long Ah reckon.
1935		(con. 1920s) J.T. Farrell Judgement Day in Studs Lonigan (1936) 538: And all I got was the go-by.
1937		R. Westerby Wide Boys Never Work (1938) 150: Why don’t you change your mind and give this old berk the go-bye.
1946		Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues 33: A busted ragpicker would have given those togs the go-by.
1949		(con. 1943–5) A. Murphy To Hell and Back (1950) 163: Seal falls in love with me. Woman gives me the go-by.
1953		W. Brown Monkey On My Back (1954) 36: She always talked ‘easy’ even when she was ‘giving him the go-by’.
1957		D. Niland Call Me When the Cross Turns Over (1958) 214: You sure gave me the go-by.
1959		J.E. Schmidt Narcotics Lingo and Lore 68: Give the go-by – Of a dope peddler, to refuse to sell drugs to a particular addict.
1961		R.A. Norton Through Beatnik Eyeballs 16: Soon as I found I could scrape bread from doing a few oil paint signs, I give it the go-by.
1969		P. Boyle All Looks Yellow to the Jaundiced Eye 26: So busy putting them on their edges that you’ll give all your friends the go by.
1970		San Diego Sailor 70: I give them the go-by when I don’t have to play studio politics.
1979		H. Leonard A Life (1981) Act II: But sure you’ve been giving us the go-by for so long I wouldn’t know a bit of you.
2000		(con. 1940s–60s) Décharné Straight from the Fridge Dad.

2. to overtake, to pass.

1802		Sporting Mag. May XX 118/1: Boynton on a Jupiter steed, / Soon tipt him the go-by!
1820		Morn. Chron. 6 July 3/5: Let’s tip ’em the go-by, and give up our places.
1821		‘An Amateur’ Real Life in London I 605: His bang-up set-out of blood and bone, giving the go-by to a heavy drag laden with eight brawney bull-faced blades.
1824		N.-Y. Eve. Post 23 July 2/2: Newton drew along side of him and after a pretty severe struggle for about 50 yards gave him the go-by.
1832		Egan Bk of Sports 3: His late Majesty [...] could [...] give the ‘go-by’ to all his nobles like fun.
1837		Morning Herald (N.Y.) 19 Aug. 2/4: The negro however contrived to give [the man watching for him] the go by, and nothing more was seen of him.
1848		Bell’s Life in London 27 Feb. 7/1: When coming up to the distance post, Cockoo gave his opponent the ‘go by’ and passed the post.
1858		R.S. Surtees Ask Mamma 371: Stop till I gets off dis birdliming field, and I’ll give you de go-bye, Cuddy, old cock.
1876		C. Hindley Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack 214: When we came into contact with a travelling bookseller we could give him the ‘go by’ with our library!
1902		‘Hugh McHugh’ It’s Up to You 54: In this manner, little woman [...] we give the mob the merry go-by.
1927		(con. 1835–40) P. Herring Bold Bendigo 279: That’s it, give him the go-by. Cut one of his dashed wheels off.

3. to surpass.

1823

‘Jon Bee’ Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc. 89: Any thing super-excellent, gives all others the go-by.

4. to leave alone.

1835

Sydney Herald 18 June 4/2: [M]y eyes how you did tip him the gobbox about imperdence, and when he wouldn't give you the go by, about morals and jistice, and equality, and sich like big words.