Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US Und.) to carry out a small crime with only minimal profits.

1891		implied in chipper n.3
1938		N.E. Eliason ‘Some Negro Terms’ in AS XIII:2 151/1: Chip: to steal.
1963		A.S. Fleischman Venetian Blonde (2006) 156: [of card cheating] I chipped along, neither winning nor losing, but all the while laying down a story.
1983		R. Klein Jailhouse Jargon and Street Sl. [unpub. ms.].
1989		J. Morton Lowspeak.

2. (drugs) to dabble in narcotic drug use.

1957		J. Gelber Connection 64: You know Ernie has been chipping. I gave him the same as you, but you got a higher tolerance.
1964		B. Jackson Get Your Ass in the Water (1974) 91: All the studs I knew was on stuff [heroin] now, and their habits was a good mile long, / but I thought I could chip [shoot heroin occasionally] and never get hooked.
1968		H. Ellison ‘The Hippie-Slayer’ in Deadly Streets (1983) 107: Kivo was working straight methedrine, shooting it [...] He said he was just chipping.
1977		(con. 1960s) D. Goines Black Gangster (1991) 137: He sure ain’t chippin’ then. That’s a goddam oil-burner.
1980		E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 172: Some teenagers had ‘chipped’ (occasionally used one or another of the hard drugs).
1994		G. Indiana Rent Boy 33: Some of that money craving comes from doing dope. That’s where Chip got his name, he chips. [Ibid.] 95: From the glitter in his eyes you can see Chip isn’t just chipping anymore.
1996		P. Temple Bad Debts (2012) [ebook] Eric was just chipping in the beginning. ‘Everything’s under control,’ was his favourite expression.
2001		(con. 1975–6) E. Little Steel Toes 110: I’m just chippin’, but I been fuckin’ around with this stuff since I was twelve. I can control it.

3. to dilute drugs.

1959		J.E. Schmidt Narcotics Lingo and Lore.
1975		Hardy & Cull Drug Lang. and Lore.

4. (Aus.) to smoke occasional cigarettes despite purportedly having given up.

2005

P. Temple Broken Shore (2007) [ebook] [He] wished he had a smoke. How long did the craving last? It would last forever if he kept chipping every chance he got.