Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (UK Und.) of a prostitute, a session with a customer.

1836

‘Charley The Buzzman and Mot!’ in Flash Casket 67: It’s gallows well known by every cove, / You goes in the fields, when you have a move.

2. a trick, a scheme, a stratagem.

1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 253: move: any action or operation in life; the secret spring by which any project is conducted, as, There is a move in that business which you are not down to. To be flash to every move upon the board, is to have a general knowledge of the world, and all its numerous deceptions.
1825		C.M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I 162: Dick’s a trump and no telegraph – up to every frisk, and down to every move of the domini, thoroughbred and ne want of courage.
1830		Egan Finish to the Adventures of Tom and Jerry (1889) 134: But, up to ev’ry move, Saucy Nell will not be beat.
1848		G.W.M. Reynolds Mysteries of London II (2nd Ser.) 359: I am so well acquainted with all the rigs and moves of London life.
1852		Kendal Mercury 24 Jan. 6/1: The country has long been infested by professional cadgers, who are adepts in all the ‘dodges’ extant [...] we will here mention a few of these ‘lairs’ which have proved the most lucrative, as we think an exposure of the ‘moves’ ought to prove [...] efficient in the protection of society.
1853		‘Cuthbert Bede’ Adventures of Mr Verdant Green (1982) I 81: Well, Gig-lamps, and By-by won’t be at all a bad move for you.
1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor I 61/2: I should like to be up to some of their moves; they do manage their things so plummy.
1877		J. Greenwood Dick Temple III 160: have already made a move in the right direction.
1880		Henley & Stevenson Deacon Brodie I tab.I vii: brodie: The old move, I presume. The double set of dice? smith: That’s the rig, Deakin.
1895		‘Banjo’ Paterson ‘Old Pardon, the Son of Reprieve’ in Man from Snowy River (1902) 12: But, ‘dosing’ or ‘stuffing’, those fellows / Were up to each move on the board.
1902		Bulletin (Sydney) 30 Aug. 32/2: But Warder Goodman, from the balcony of the workshops overlooking the lane, had seen the ‘move.’ No. 23 was promptly locked-up, awaiting the arrival of the visiting ‘beak.’.
1923		Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves 132: It wouldn’t be a bad move to get a line on G. Hayward’s form.
1935		Z.N. Hurston Mules and Men (1995) 124: There’s a whole heap Of them kinda by-words. Like for instance: ‘Ole coon for cunnin’, young coon for runnin’’, and ‘Ah can’t dance, but Ah know good moves’.
1949		N. Algren Man with the Golden Arm 155: It looks like our move.
1951		D. Stivens Jimmy Brockett 196: Something crook was going on, but Peter couldn’t find out who was behind the move.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 271: It had been a sucker move to come to Mama.
1974		G.F. Newman You Flash Bastard 26: Instantly he recalled those moves by Peter Rosi again; they were a measure of the accountant’s treachery and cunning.
1987		Kid ’N’ Play ‘Last Night’ 🎵 That’s when I knew this move wasn’t groovy / ’Cos that was Freddie Kreuger from the Nightmare movie.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 112: They’d make their move on Rings during lunch hour.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 14: I was in LA with people who were making moves, the real in-crowd.
2010		K. Richards Life 63: I didn’t piece it together until years later - some swift moves Doris was making.
2016		C. Eble (ed.) UNC-CH Campus Sl. Spring 2016 6: MOVE — event, plan: ‘What’s the move tonight?’.
2020		D. Whish-Wilson Shore Leave 106: That was a dickhead move.

3. style, fashion, design.

1840

Flash Mirror 19: R. Rainbow, Slap Toggery-maker; benjamins, top togs, cover-me-decents, togs, and kicks of every sort done to a new move, pinch’d in knee pillow-cases, done fine and work’d to fit any forks.

4. schemes used for seduction; esp. in put a move on

1968

Current Sl. II:3 16: Moves, n. Dating maneuvers.

5. (orig. US) a sexual advance.

1951		see make a move (on)
1976		Jenkins & Shrake Limo 157: ‘By the way, is this the move?’ I laughed and realized I was sitting very close to her. In fact, our arms were touching.
1984		G. Tate ‘Stagolee Versus the Proper Negro’ in Flyboy in the Buttermilk (1992) 55: There you get the Napoleonic vulnerability behind his kinky stud moves.
1997		J. Birmingham Tasmanian Babes Fiasco (1998) 224: She’s cool for the Move. She likes the Move. She wants the Move.

6. (orig. US) in pl., knowledge, ability, ‘smarts’; esp. in phrs. have all the moves, got all the moves.

1967–8		Baker et al. CUSS 127: Good moves, a sexually expert male.
1974		G.V. Higgins Cogan’s Trade (1975) 8: He’s a prick, but he’s got all the moves.
1993		J. Mowry Six Out Seven (1994) 392: You don’t start learnin da moves, y’all gonna get you a major dirt-nap.
2001		N. Barlay Hooky Gear 32: Nobody see his moves.

7. (drugs) a shipment of smuggled drugs.

1975		E. Torres Carlito’s Way 109: ‘Two hundred thou. That means the pot is two mill. That means two hundred keys [...] Good God almighty damn, biggest move I ever heard of ’.
1995		G. Cuomo Couple of Cops 180: They [drug importers] spent all their time waiting for what they called a move, meaning a shipment coming in from Bolivia.

8. (US) the right thing, the proper way, ‘what’s happening’.

1986		oral testimony in Lighter HDAS II.
1995		D. Lodge Therapy (1996) 151: Lawrence [...] ended up inviting him in for a cup of tea. Bad move.
2001		Source Aug. 124: Pen had finally realized that subjecting herself and subsequently her children to dangerous conditions wasn’t the move.

9. (UK black) a robbery, a crime.

2018-20		T. Thorne (ed.) ‘Drill Slang Glossary’ at Forensic Linguistic Databank 🌐 Move - criminal operation, raid or attack, robbery.
2020		G. Krauze Who They Was 7: All he really has to do is drive us to wherever the move is gonna pop off .