Green’s Dictionary of Slang

awake adj.

also awake up

seeing through or understanding a (criminal) scheme, being wise.

1811
1850190019502000
2014
[UK]Lex. Balatronicum n.p.: Awake. Acquainted with, knowing the business. Stow the books, the culls are awake; hide the cards, the fellows know what we intended to do.
[UK]P. Egan Key to the Picture of the Fancy going to a Fight 17: From the Swell Inn down to the little hedge Lushing Crib the Bonifaces are all awake.
[UK]‘An Amateur’ Real Life in London I 596: Tallyho was reminded by his Cousin to button up his toggery, keep his ogles in action, and be awake.
[UK]Egan Anecdotes of the Turf, the Chase etc. 71: Mr. Phillips is neither au fait, con amore, up, down, fly, or awake, upon so rough a subject.
[UK]Dickens Nicholas Nickleby (1982) 505: ‘If you hear the waiter coming, sir, shove it in your pocket and look out of the window...’ ‘I’m awake, father,’ replied the dutiful Wackford.
[Aus]Satirist & Sporting Chron. (Sydney) 18 Feb. 4/1: He, being wide awake, sallied forth and, locking up his quondam guardian, left him in quod.
[UK]New Sprees of London 3: Nanty palary the rumcull of the Casey is [...] quisby in the nut, not fly, not up to the moves, not down to the dodges, not awake, can't tumble to the slums, not wido to the slangs.
[UK] ‘Leary Man’ in ‘Ducange Anglicus’ Vulgar Tongue (1857) 44: And as through the world you budgery, / Get well awake to fudgery.
[US]Wkly Varieties (Boston, MA) 3 Sept. 6/3: Our readers [...] will not be compelled to keep a lamp buring [...] to avoid slumbering. We opine they can keep awake without it.
[UK](con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor I 243/2: The landlord of which is not ‘awake’ or ‘fly’ to the ‘moves’ and dodges of the trade.
[UK]Hotten Sl. Dict.
[UK]J. Greenwood Tag, Rag & Co. 23: It may be a paying game with her just now, but that’s ’cos it’s new, and there’s not many that are awake to it.
[UK]Maidstone Jrnl 6 Nov. 4/5: Maidstone is at last awake and beginning to shake off the Radical nightmare.
[Aus]G.H. Lawson Dict. of Aus. Words And Terms 🌐 AWAKE — To know all.
[UK]Mid-Sussex Times 8 Nov. 7/1: [advert] Are you awake to the fact that the Lewes Building Society advanced £142,000 on Mortgage [etc].
Scotsman 4 Nov. 6/4: South should be awake to the fact that his partner is being end-played.
[US]Z.N. Hurston Seraph on the Suwanee (1995) 839: Some folks, Arvy, would have been awake enough to glimpse and see.
[Aus]S. Gore Holy Smoke 59: Can’t you see this joker’s properly awake up?
[Aus]A. Buzo The Roy Murphy Show (1973) 121: I’m awake up to you ... you ... twister.
[NZ]G. Newbold Big Huey 223: The screws of course were awake to it all.
[US]C. Eble (ed.) UNC-CH Campus Sl. Spring 2014 Fall 6: STAY WOKE — be aware.