Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. expenses; payments.

1863		Story of a Lancashire Thief 12: He was never out of collar, for he made his screw meet his ex’s.
1878		‘’Arry on the Turf’ in Punch 29 Nov. 297/1: And now, out of collar, and cleaned, with a fortnight’s stiff ex’s to pay.
1883		Our Boys No. 2 Dec. in Ware (1909) 142/2: I have been making a long calculation, and I find that this sum will only just cover ex.’s, so I am simply giving you the crock.
1887		Cumberland Mercury (NSW) 3 Sept. 5/1: Mr. Minister Clarke means to pose as the docker of judicial travelling ‘ex's’.
1890		M. Williams Leaves of a Life 153: He was out for a spree at the races, and I suppose he thought he’d like to pay his exes.
1893		Albert Chevalier ‘The Candid Man’ 🎵 Well, she was a decent sort, An’ knowin’ I was short, She didn’t mind cuttin’ ex’s down.
1895		Truth (Sydney) 28 Apr. 3/2: They intend to keep on paying Eddy [...] and to honor his vouchers for his Contentinental exes.
1898		Binstead & Wells A Pink ’Un and a Pelican 7: If yer popper or yer mommer sends you any more workin’ exes, Edith, don’t take any o’ them Ventnor boys on.
1899		Harrington, Lambe & LeBrunn [perf. Marie Lloyd] Of Course 🎵 If her beau pays all the ex's, does she just jump at the chance? / Why, of course!
1906		Sun. Times (Perth) 18 Feb. 4/8: I paid all ’is exes in Perth at Christmas.
1908		D. Blackburn Leaven 208: That’ll help pay exes in town to-night.
1913		Truth (Sydney) 27 Apr. 11/3: Presently another one, / Payable to ‘household exs,’ / Like the other it were done.
1914		W. Sickert New Age 19 Mar. 631: He would carry with him [...] all exes paid, his band of ‘wraughters’ or ‘rorters’.
1924		‘Digit’ Confessions of a Twentieth Century Hobo 85: You pay the exes out of the cash and we’ll call it square.
1937		C. Drew ‘Darkie’ in Bulletin 10 Feb. 6/3: We just cleared exes, at Balzo and made towards the Queensland border.
1938		J.B. Booth Sporting Times 263: It’s the crushin’ exes [...] that sickens gentlemen with racin.
1962		R. Cook Crust on its Uppers 54: Archbubble puts up our exes.
1968		J. Alard He who Shoots Last 83: I forgot to take the exes.
1999		J. Cameron Brown Bread in Wengen [ebook] ‘You takes that bagful of exes!’.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 262: We’ll have some ex’s and we might need to bring in some specialists.
2001		K. Sampson Outlaws (ms.) 126: Won’t ask for nothing by the way, neither. Will not ask for one penny in exies.
2007		N. ‘Razor’ Smith Raiders 80: After exes, Ronnie and Bimbo shared £1,600 between them.
2011		J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 67: £149,500.00p in credit. If that’s what Mort meant by ted putting me on ex’s, that’s generous.
2013		K. Sampson Killing Pool 277: All his fucking junkets on exies while we can’t even get a sign-off for overtime.
2013		T. Peacock More You Bet 18: The above ‘outlays’ [...] were, and are, part of a bookmaker’s ‘ex’s’ (also spelt ‘exes’) which is short for ‘expenses’.

2. see exis n.