Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (UK Und.) to inform, to confess; thus put to the squeak v., to demand a confession; squeak on v., to betray, to inform against; squeaking n., informing.

1631		T. Heywood Faire Maid of the West Pt I II i: Ile bid as fayre and farre as any man within twenty miles of my head, but I will put her to the squeake.
1690		Dryden Don Sebastian 79: I have a trick left to put thee past thy squeeking: I have giv’n thee the quinzey; that ungracious Tongue shall Preach no more false Doctrin. [Ibid.] 96: If he be obstinate, put a civil Question to him upon the Rack, and he squeaks I warrant him.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Squeak c. to discover, or impeach also to cry out. They Squeak beef upon us, c. cry out High-way-men or Thieves after us. The Cull Squeek’s, c. the Rogue Peaches.
1719		A. Smith Lives of Most Notorious Highway-men, etc. (1926) II [as cit. c.1698].
1725		‘Retoure My Dear Dell’ in Farmer Musa Pedestris (1896) 45: And if it should e’er be my hard fate to trine, / I never will whiddle, I never will squeek.
1734		C. Johnson Hist. of Highwaymen &c. 74: She soon squeak’d, confessed all.
1740		R. North Examen 218: Ministers of the Plot were in continual Expectation, that, [...] some pusillanimous Wretch, out of mortal Fear, would squeak.
1749		B.M. Carew ‘The Oath of the Canting Crew’ in Farmer Musa Pedestris (1896) 50: Never blow the gab, or squeak; / Never snitch to bum or beak.
1757		Foote Author in Works (1799) I 136: In the year forty-five, when I was in the treasonable way, I never squeak’d.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1786		Oxford Jrnl 4 Mar. 3/2: Thou has the luck to squeak now and so thy friends must go to quod and scour the cramp rings, whilst thou livest at ease with the Harmenbeck.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1830		Egan Finish to the Adventures of Tom and Jerry (1889) 134: [...] sent to Quod, she’s too game to squeak.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum 85: squeak or squeal To inform. A thief is said to ‘squeak’ or ‘squeal’ when, after his arrest, he gives information against his accomplices, or where stolen property may be found.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict. 245: ‘squeak on a person,’ to inform against.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1888		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery Under Arms (1922) 109: What I look at is this: he won’t squeak.
1895		Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 80: Squeak, to turn informer.
1904		Morn. Post 9 Apr. 4/5: He [...] was captured as an accomplice of theives [...] and then turned snitch, squeaked, or blew the gaff.
1918		C.J. Dennis ‘Half A Man’ in Chisholm (1951) 103: She got ’im talkin’, like a woman can. / ’E never would ’ave squeaked to any man.
1927		E. Wallace Squeaker (1950) 10: I just want to know who was the squeaker who squeaked!
1930		‘Leslie Charteris’ Enter the Saint 85: ‘Last night I posted a little story to Inspector Teal.’ [...] ‘I told you he’d squeak,’ Braddon was raging.
1940		O. Strange Sudden Takes the Trail 135: Dead men don’t squeak.
1952		J. Jones From Here to Eternity (1998) 800: Even Ike wouldnt have the guts to squeak in the face of all this opposition.
1959		W. Burroughs Naked Lunch (1968) 180: His dossier contains three pages of monikers indicating his proclivity for cooperating with the law [...] The Squeaking Syrian, The Cooing Cocksucker, The Musical Fruit.
1992		S. Armitage ‘8 p.m. and Raining When Robinson’ in Kid 63: Next time you squeak, Robinson, one more mention / and you’re sausage meat.

2. to complain; to make a noisy fuss.

1908		Hopper & Bechdolt ‘9009’ (1909) 126: ‘An’ don’t squeak,’ he went on; ‘if ye do, I’ll cut your head off.’.
1914		Sport (Adelaide) 4 Sept. 5/4: Idreene is a shop girl; / She gets ten bob a week; / She thinks she’s worth much more than that, / But is afraid to speak.
1917		Boy’s Own Paper XL:4 176: We can take it without asking, and if he wants to squeak, let him!