Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(UK Und.) one who supplies information to a criminal.

1777

J. Fielding Thieving Detected 26: The Drop Cull makes the Sneak acquainted with the whole: if the Sneak happens to have success at either of these inns, he makes the other a present.

(orig. US black) to drive around in one’s car playing loud (hip-hop) music with a heavy bass-line.

2001

OnLine Dict. of Playground Sl. 🌐 dropping bottom n. Driving around with the bass on the audio system set at a vibration level liable to cause permanent damage to hearing and possibly other internal organs. Or to put it another way, ‘Yo dude just chillin round town dropping bottom.’ To elucidate, ‘dropping bottom’ is dumping extreme amounts of low frequencies into the stratosphere.

to find out about someone’s character or plans.

1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 236: to drop down to a person is to discover or be aware of his character or designs.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1847		[A. Harris] (con. 1820s) Settlers & Convicts 321: The man that was driving the Bathurst herd was a regular muff (booby), and never dropped down what o'clock it was (did not detect the scheme).
1900–10		Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.] 65: DROP slang to drop down to is to understand, to be aware of.

(US black) to demonstrate wisdom or skill.

1989		Low Profile ‘Make Room For The Dub.B.U.’ 🎵 Suckers flappin’ at the mouth, but they ain’t droppin’ knowledge.
1993		Ice T ‘Message to the Soldier’ 🎵 Why don’t you drop some knowledge for these brothers.
2000		Frankie Ano featuring Bahamadia ‘Droppin’ Gems’ 🎵 Drop The Beat Compilation [album] I’m not a mere mortal, but extraordinary human / Amazing with the microphone, plus the music I be doing / [...] / I insist you close lips and pay homage / To me, Bahamadia and for the way we drop knowledge.
2003		Mad mag. July 29: A street-tough rapper who ‘drops mad knowledge’ on children.

see under science n.

(US black) to give an order / instruction.

2005

W.D. Myers Autobiog. of My Dead Brother 97: ‘You did the drive-by?’ ‘I dropped the word,’ Rise said.

1. to become aware of, to work out, to recognize.

1844		C. Selby London by Night I ii: All right, I’ve dropped upon him!
1869		N.Y. Times 19 May 5/1: It is the duty of the ‘shadow’ to follow him in, if he can do so without being ‘dropped on,’ (noticed by the [subject]), to see how much money he spends, if any.
1882		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 18 Nov. 7/4: [A] minister [...] was sent for to marry the prosecuting witness and the prisoner, but he dropped to the game and refused to perform the ceremony.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 7 Feb. 11/4: Now that that Wilcannia Times has ‘dropped’ to the designs of Prince Bismarck, public opinion in that empire, we learn, is in favour of some ‘modification’ with regard to Germany’s policy with respect to New Guinea.
1886		Louis A. Newcome Post Office Burglars of the Shawangunk Mountains 99: [The detective] is not only exposed to the danger of being dropped on by the party, who he is endeavoring to obtain evidence against.
1893–4		H. Lawson ‘Shooting the Moon’ in Roderick (1972) 150: The boss looked up at the window, and dropped to it [i.e. a ‘moonlight flit’].
1901		J. Flynt World of Graft 119: I’d like to hand my wife all I get, but she’d drop on to my graft ’f I did.
1907		Bourbon News (Paris, KY) 12 Mar. 2/4: He heard some of the Flabbergasting and Dropped to the situation.
1908		‘The Great Bond Robbery’ in Roberts et al. Old Sleuth’s Freaky Female Detectives (1990) 75/2: The lady detective had ‘dropped’ to the scar identification mark.
1910		Bulletin (Sydney) 29 Sept. 44/1: She’s comin’ right west-away, too; as if they’d dropped to our little game.
1919		Marvel 3 Mar. 10: We have dropped on a rum show this journey, Jack.
1920		F. Packard White Moll 68: Skeeny dropped to the fact that the police were wise about Skarbolov’s.
1928		M.C. Sharpe Chicago May (1929) 90: The plan was simple enough, but, like most simple plans, it was a wonder no one had dropped to it before.
1938		N. Lindsay Age Of Consent 183: Too dangerous. Mender’s dropped to it [...] They’ll be on the watch now.
1974–5		B. Humphries Barry McKenzie [comic strip] in Complete Barry McKenzie (1988) 113: Jeez Bazza, didn’t youse drop to that first up?
1985		B. Humphries Traveller’s Tool 46: Luckily Gwen in far-away Sydney never dropped to it.

2. (US Und.) to obtain, to gain.

1899–1900		C.L. Cullen Tales of the Ex-Tanks 162: I happened on ’em. I drew them. They dropped to me, I won them.
1908		‘Old Sleuth’ Dock Rats of N.Y. (2006) 104: ‘Are you on the make?’ ‘What have you to offer?’ ‘You can drop to a big sum.’.

(W.I.) to utter veiled insults, to make sarcastic comments.

1995

Francis-Jackson Official Dancehall Dict. 16: Drop wud to make indirect comments about someone who is usually close enough to hear them.