Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus.) baking powder [play on SE shot/powder].

1913

W.K. Harris Outback in Aus. 146: [They] had called at his particular station for the proverbial free pannikin of ‘dust’ (flour) [and] pinch of ‘shot’ (baking powder).

2. a very hard cake [SE shot, a cannonball].

1923

J. Manchon Le Slang.

3. dried peas [? SE shot, the lead shot contained in a shotgun cartridge].

1925

(con. 1899) H.P. Bailey Shanghaied Out of Frisco 186: Cracker Hash—another wonderful sea cookery mélange consisting of pounded sea biscuit companioned with dried peas—(‘Shot’) boiled for half an hour with a lump of very fat pork.

4. anything very hard to understand or believe.

1923

J. Manchon Le Slang.

5. (US Und.) the detonation of an explosive during safe-breaking [SE shot, an electrical device for detonating the shot].

1928		J. Callahan Man’s Grim Justice 73: We made the first shot on the vault door [...] he could see the reddish blue-white flash which preceded the explosion.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 193/2: Shot. [...] 4. The quantity of explosive used in safe-blowing or the actual detonation.

6. (Aus.) an abortion.

1950

(con. 1936–46) K.S. Prichard Winged Seeds (1984) 96: The girls at work, I’ve heard them talking about having a ‘shot’; and it being nothing to make a fuss about.

7. a blow, a hit.

1942		N. Algren Never Come Morning (1988) 87: Friend of mine took a couple of shots at a farmer we was rollin’.
1950		‘Hal Ellson’ Tomboy (1952) 86: If he tries any funny stuff, he’ll get a shot in the teeth.
1953		Mad mag. Aug.–Sept. 5: You pin his arms behind his back while I give him a shot in the head.
1955		E. Hunter ‘See Him Die’ in Jungle Kids (1967) 106: I give him a shot in the arm to shut him up.
1964		H. Selby Jr Last Exit to Brooklyn 267: Who ya gonna give a shot in the head, eh?
1974		(con. 1960s) R. Price Wanderers 227: He gave me a fuckin’ shot in the nose, I thought I din’t have no face left.
1975		E. Torres Carlito’s Way 13: Spook would run — one shot — lay ’im out.
1990		(con. early 1950s) J. Ellroy L.A. Confidential 27: Bud picked a great first shot [...] Bud broke his nose, his jaw.
1994		N. McCall Makes Me Wanna Holler (1995) 54: I’d busted Shane in the face with my best shots.
2000		Guardian Rev. 14 Jan. 12: I hooked him a beautiful shot.
2001		(con. 1990s) in J. Miller One of the Guys 108: ‘This one girl got her teeth, her teeth missing ’cause she gots so many mouth shots’.
2010		Codella and Bennett Alphaville (2011) 11: The rib shot has done a number on him.

8. (US black) a professional pickpocket; thus shot broad, a female pickpocket.

1939		Howsley Argot: Dict. of Und. Sl. 45: shot [...] a negro pickpocket.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn) 208: shot A colored pickpocket.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 193/2: Shot. [...] 2. A pickpocket, especially one who can work alone successfully.
a.1963		‘The Fall’ in D. Wepman et al. Life (1976) 81: She was a good shot broad and a pro at fraud.
a.1967		‘Sporting Life’ in D. Wepman et al. Life (1976) 162: There’s the cool old shot at the busy bus stop / Scanning on a hide.

9. (US prison) a friend.

2000

Other Side of the Wall: Prisoner’s Dict. July 🌐 Shot: [a] Friend.

10. (UK drugs) a puff on a marijuana or crack cocaine pipe [synon. for hit n. (3e)].

2007

R. Milward Apples (2023) 30: I took another shot off someone’s bucket.

11. (UK drugs) on who purchases drugs.

2018-20

T. Thorne (ed.) ‘Drill Slang Glossary’ at Forensic Linguistic Databank 🌐 Shot - buyer of drugs.