Green’s Dictionary of Slang

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

1811		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.
1819		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.
1821		‘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.
1827		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.
1838–9		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.
1843		Satirist & Sporting Chron. (Sydney) 18 Feb. 4/1: He, being wide awake, sallied forth and, locking up his quondam guardian, left him in quod.
1844		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.
1857		‘Leary Man’ in ‘Ducange Anglicus’ Vulgar Tongue (1857) 44: And as through the world you budgery, / Get well awake to fudgery.
1859		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.
1861		(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.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1883		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.
1902		Maidstone Jrnl 6 Nov. 4/5: Maidstone is at last awake and beginning to shake off the Radical nightmare.
1924		G.H. Lawson Dict. of Aus. Words And Terms 🌐 AWAKE — To know all.
1927		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].
1941		Scotsman 4 Nov. 6/4: South should be awake to the fact that his partner is being end-played.
1948		Z.N. Hurston Seraph on the Suwanee (1995) 839: Some folks, Arvy, would have been awake enough to glimpse and see.
1968		S. Gore Holy Smoke 59: Can’t you see this joker’s properly awake up?
1971		A. Buzo The Roy Murphy Show (1973) 121: I’m awake up to you ... you ... twister.
1982		G. Newbold Big Huey 223: The screws of course were awake to it all.
2014		C. Eble (ed.) UNC-CH Campus Sl. Spring 2014 Fall 6: STAY WOKE — be aware.