write, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

write v.

1. to pass dud cheques.

1889		F. Bowyer [perf. Arthur Combes] ‘Called to the Bar’ 🎵 ‘What's the “toff” done, bit o’ writing? he’s all right for seven “stretch”’.
1969		B. Jackson Thief’s Primer 78: If you’re going to write checks on the south side of San Antonio, you’ll put them from a north side state bank.

2. (drugs) of a doctor, to write prescriptions for narcotics.

1953		‘William Lee’ Junkie (1966) 22: Roy located an Italian doctor out in the Bronx who would write.
1966		J. Mills Panic in Needle Park (1971) 121: From this croaker up on 76th Street. He used to write for me, you know, scripts, prescriptions.
1978		H. Selby Jr Requiem for a Dream (1987) 49: He still writes for tranks and downers.
1980		(con. 1940s–60s) H. Huncke ‘Ed Leary’ in Eve. Sun Turned Crimson (1998) 128: I had some doubts about my ability to convince the doctors to write.
1990		(con. 1930s–60s) H. Huncke Guilty of Everything (1998) 276: This is my job, my life. Won’t you write for even three grains of morphine?

3. (US) to create graffiti in public spaces.

2005		B. Coleman Rakim Told Me 225: ‘I met him through another graffiti artist named Funkmaster, who used to write with a guy named Pre-Sweet. They were bombing all over the Bronx’.
2014		A. Fox-Lerner ‘Traces of a Name’ in ThugLit Mar. [ebook] Sometimes I missed writing, but not terribly. I was pretty much okay with not [...] committing criminal acts.

SE in slang uses

In phrases

that’s all she wrote (also that was all..., that’s what she wrote) [? the unhappy man’s remark on reaching the terminal statements of a Dear John n. letter]

(orig. US milit.) a general term of finality, that’s all there is.

1944		D. Burley N.Y. Amsterdam News 16 Sept. 12A: I’m you’re daddy-O, you’re my baby-O, and Queen Bee, that’s what she wrote.
1948		D. Burley N.Y. Amsterdam News 17 July 23: He left the house for 20 minutes and when he got back, that was all she wrote.
1954		E. Hunter ‘The Beatings’ in Jungle Kids (1967) 134: ‘Then what?’ ‘Then nothing [...] That was all she wrote, Matt, I blacked out.’.
1967		(con. 1920s) J. Thompson South of Heaven (1994) 187: Higby climbed up on the long wash bench and shouted that that was all she wrote.
1975		Bruce Springsteen ‘The River’ 🎵 Then I got Mary pregnant, and, man, that was all she wrote.
1979		E. Torres After Hours 54: I caught him a straight right hand [...] All she wrote for Walberto.
1986		R. Campbell In La-La Land We Trust (1999) 78: ‘You didn’t answer the one about Zabadno.’ ‘He was in a wreck. That’s all she wrote.’.
1997		E. Little Another Day in Paradise 103: The brother went and became a real Muslim [...] and that’s all she wrote.
2003		Simon & Burns ‘Hot Shots’ Wire ser. 2 ep. 3 [TV script] There’s sixty checkers above me with more seniority, and that’s all she wrote.

write off

see separate entries.

write one’s name on (v.)

to reserve for oneself, to have the first go at.

1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. (2nd edn).
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.

write one’s signature across someone’s (v.)

(orig. sporting) to hit in the face.

1885

Globe (London) 5 Oct. in Ware (1909) 269/2: Mr John Coleman, having been accused of being the author of a certain book, writes to the papers demanding to know the originator of the ‘slander.’ Mr Coleman is anxious ‘to write my signature across his.’ This picturesque phrase will be a useful addition to the vocabulary of the ring.

write out (v.) [fig. a role written out of a script]

(US Und.) to order to be killed.

1930

R. Whitfield Green Ice (1988) 49: The big – guys – wrote her – out.

write scrip (v.) (also write script) [scrip n.²/script n. (1)]

(drugs) to give out prescriptions for narcotics.

1938		D. Maurer ‘Lang. of the Und. Narcotic Addict’ Pt 2 in Lang. Und. (1981) 110/2: To write scrip. 1. For a physician to supply an addict regularly with narcotics by prescription.
1942		Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Sl. 467: write script.
1954		Maurer & Vogel Narcotics and Narcotic Addiction.
1959		J.E. Schmidt Narcotics Lingo and Lore.
1995		(con. 1985–90) P. Bourjois In Search of Respect 180: She killed a doctor [...] some doctor who was writing scrips for her, that she was fucking.

write up

see separate entries.