Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a very tall person, esp. one with a mournful, depressed air.

1890		Gloucester Citizen 13 May 4/3: She proceeded to detail the circum stances [...] which commenced by the complainant calling to him ‘You — long slab of misery’.
1905		N. Lindsay in Comic Art of Norman Lindsay 113: The men we know today are long, gaunt, streaks of misery.
1915		C.J. Dennis ‘The Kid’ in Songs of a Sentimental Bloke 101: A little while ago it was jist me – / A lonely, longin’ streak o’ misery.
1932		Advocate (Burnie, Tas.) 29 Sept. 10/3: Mac was a long streak of a cove — long as a drink of water run down a string.
1947		H.C. Bosman Jacaranda in the Night (1981) I 365: I’ll break his neck and yours. [...] That long slab of misery!
1954		J.E. Macdonnell Jim Brady 196: ‘You lanky fathom of misery,’ grinned Fawkner.
1959		D. Niland Gold in the Streets (1966) 118: Tucker Haines, a long streak on a bike at the kerb.
1967		‘Whisper All Aussie Dict.’ in Kings Cross Whisper (Sydney) xl 4/5: streak of misery: A tall thin person, not necessarily an unhappy one.
1975		‘Bluey’ Bush Contractors 19: He was a long thin streak of misery with slicked down black hair and oil coming out of his skin.
1980		Barltrop & Wolveridge Muvver Tongue 91: If he is thin, he is ‘a streak’ – or ‘a rasher’ – ‘of misery’.
1981		J. Bennett Gallipoli 55: The bloke, who’s about our age, is a real long streak of misery, as Athos says.
1991		B. Quinn Smokey Hollow 26: You should have got him, the long streak of misery.
1996		B. Scott Banshee and Bullocky 33: His offsider was a long inconsiderable streak of a bloke.

an unflattering description of a tall, thin person.

[1838		M. Lemon My Sister Kate in Matthews Cockney Past and Present 50: [She] used to go out with one of them long sticks of sealing wax — them life-guards].
1968		A. Buzo Norm and Ahmed (1973) 12: Tall bloke, he was. A long thin streak of pelican shit.
1971		T. Lewis Plender [ebook]‘That streak of gnat’s pee!’.
1972		K. Bonfiglioli Don’t Point That Thing at Me (1991) 62: It had been delivered [...] by what he described as a long streak of pee.
1979		D. Maitland Breaking Out 233: Harry gave vent to great rage and shouted back [...] ‘you long streak of gnat’s piss!’.
1981		Age (Melbourne) 13 Aug. 10/3: David Williamson is [...] described [...] as ‘that long thin streak of pelican shit’.
1986		R. Beckett Dinkum Aussie Dict. 35: Long streak of cocky’s shit: A reference to someone who is both very tall and very arrogant. The phrase, ‘long streak of pelican’s shit’ means the same thing.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 108/2: streak tall thin person, often in phr. a streak of weasel piss.
1997		H.R.F. Keating Soft Detective 208: That poor long streak of piss.
2000		Indep. Rev. 17 June 5: It is also demonstrably the case that our centres of gravity are too low to excel at a game which privileges long streaks of piss.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 129: long tall streak of weasel piss Lanky person. ANZ.
2006		B. Matthews Intractable [ebook] He was a skinny streak of duck shit with the heart of a split pea.
2009		T. Black Gutted 2: I dropped the lanky streak of piss and flung up my hands.
2018		J.-P. Jordan Joys of War 114: The head nurse was a tall, skinny string of piss .

(Anglo-Irish) to hurry up, to ‘get a move on’; esp. as excl. put a streak into it!

1968		‘Nicholas Blake’ Private Wound 103: Through the pandemonium cut a megaphone voice, adjuring the laggards in some class to ‘put a sthreak into it! Numbers 3, 7 and 16, we’re waiting for you!’ .
1984		Partridge DSUE (8th edn) 939: [...] C.20.

(N.Z.) a very fast runner.

1968

G. Slatter Pagan Game 155: He’s a streak of weasel shit. Too fast for the rest of them, that’s the trouble.

to move fast.

1928

(con. WWI) H.F. Cruikshank ‘So This Is Flanders!’ Battle Stories July 🌐 So we unlimbers our gats an’ took a streak acrost.

(orig. US) that which is fast and at great length; usu. of speech and constr. with talk, e.g. talk a blue streak; used adv., to a great extent.

1850		Manchester Spy (NH) 21 Sept. n.p.: She loved the bed-bug poison a blue streak.
1863		‘Edmund Kirke’ Life in Dixie’s Land 101: He hab swore a blue streak at him, and called him a ---- Ab’lishener, jess ’cause Massa K--- wudn’t get mad and sass him back.
1864		‘Edmund Kirke’ Down in Tennessee 160: They swore a streak uv blue brimstun’.
1880		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 25 Dec. 2/2: Their [i.e. politicians] ability to ‘swear a blue streak’ is only equalled by their capacity for taking all they can get and holding on to it.
1890		E. Field ‘Marthy’s Younkit’ Little Bk of Western Verse 177: Though it had been fashionable to swear a perfec’ streak, / There warnt no swearin’ in the camp.
1895		S. Hale Letters (1919) 289: [I] came down and drove in her sort of hunched-up carryall with sides buckled down, it was pouring, talking a blue streak two miles to her house .
1901		T. Hammond On Board a Whaler 201: He commenced cussin’ a livin’ streak at Joe.
1913		J. London Valley of the Moon (1914) 81: ‘Gee!’ he exclaimed. ‘I never talk a streak like this to anybody.’.
1925		Z.N. Hurston Spunk (1995) 953: Spunk wuz cussin’ a blue streak to-day.
1932		(con. 1919) Dos Passos Nineteen Nineteen in USA (1966) 359: He talked a blue streak all the time they were driving out.
1944		A. Kapelner Lonely Boy Blues (1965) 118: Harry, marry the girl! She’s a peach! [...] Cooks a blue streak!
1944		D. Runyon Runyon à la Carte 13: The parrot talks a blue streak at all times.
1956		Billie Holiday Lady Sings the Blues (1975) 43: Some cat would be cussing out some broad a blue streak.
1958		E. Gilbert Vice Trap 40: Shirley ran her mouth too much. She talked a streak.
1961		L. Block Diet of Treacle (2008) 144: You can call me worse than that. Go ahead – talk a big streak.
1963		in T.I. Rubin Sweet Daddy 12: I yak a blue streak here.
1967		in S. Harris Hellhole 169: I come before the judge [...] and he talks a great streak.
1969		N. Cohn Awopbop. (1970) 91: But still he talked blind streaks and never ran out of wind.
1977		E. Bunker Animal Factory 33: Bad Eye is madder’n a motherfucker. He’s cussin’ a blue streak.
1983		R. Price Breaks 116: My excitement had me spewing out a blue streak of mature perceptiveness.
1999		Indep. Rev. 15 Oct. 14: Talking 10 to the dozen and swearing a blue streak, she’s great company.
2005		A. Lovejoy Acid Alex 51: The ou swore a blue streak.
2010		(con. 1973) C. Stella Johnny Porno 27: Sonny Corleone himself, Nick Santorra, cursing a blue streak.

(US) menstruating.

1999

J. Randall ‘A Visit from Aunt Rose’ in Verbatim Winter n.p.: Other blood codes make reference to the gushing or flowing of blood, such as Old Faithful (which also suggests periodicity) or on a streak (the Rolling Stones song ‘Satisfaction’ includes the lyric ‘Baby, better come back / later next week / ’cause you see / I’m on a losin’ streak’).

see under lavender adj.

see under lightning n.