Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a lump, a chunk, a portion.

c.1861		‘A Night in a London Workhouse’ in C. Hindley Curiosities of Street Lit. (1871) 137: Then before you go to bed, you get a toke of bread.
1873		Sl. Dict.

2. dry bread; esp. in comb. skilly and toke, gruel and dry bread, as served in prisons and workhouses.

1859, 1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.
1866		J. Greenwood Night in a Workhouse 16: Why, a cove forgot his toke! Gordstruth! you wouldn’t ketch me a-forgettin’ mine.
1866		Exeter & Plymouth Gaz. (Devon) 23 Feb. 3/6: The famous ‘addy’ [...] appeared Friday night at the Marylebone Theatre in a piece called ‘asual Ward’. He played his own self, and gave out ‘skilly’ and ‘toke’.
1877		Five Years’ Penal Servitude 4: On the seat, much to my surprise, were two large slices of bread [...] what in prison slang is called [...] ‘toke’ or ‘chuck.’.
1881		Aldershot Military Gaz. 9 Apr. 6/3: ‘killy and toke for hever!’ cried our office boy. ‘ou was born in Pancridge Workus, so yer ought to stand up for the union.
1891		G.R. Sims ‘That New-Born Babe’ Dagonet Ditties 105: She couldn’t stand the skilly, and she turned against the toke.
1900		‘Doss Chiderdoss’ ‘A Dangerous Dad’ Sporting Times 3 Feb. 1/4: For I’d sooner ’im share my last bit o’ dry toke / Than I’d see ’im penned up in the ‘lump’ now.
1921		Western Mail (Perth) 17 Nov. 21/1: [in cartoon captioned ‘The Police Table d’Hote’] Skilly and toke, skilly and toke. Really it’s enough...
1954		J. Phelan Tramp at Anchor 142: Piping a grass while I slid a toke in my flowery.

3. bread.

1866		Wild Boys of London I 6/1: He’s a good sort; he’d share his last brown, or give you his only bit o’ toke.
1885		M. Davitt Leaves from a Prison Diary I 196: The rumour went around that Mulligan was ‘slinging toke’ (giving his bread) to the ‘general.’.
1893		‘’Arriet on Labour’ in Punch 26 Aug. 88/2: When a woman’s got four kids, bad ’ealth, and toke for tiffin, / Then marriage is a failure.
1905		‘My Religion’ in ‘Banjo’ Paterson Old Bush Songs 127: But with the poor toiler to share your last ‘toke’ / That’s the religion for me.
1914		E. Pugh Cockney At Home 158: Coming in handy to make bread-pudding with some of that toke.
1925		(con. WWI) Fraser & Gibbons Soldier and Sailor Words 287: Toke: [...] Bread.
1940		M. Marples Public School Slang 24: toke: a word of some age and widely used: its origin is obscure, but has been thought to involve a pun, since toke [...] =idle, loaf.

4. food in general.

1879		‘Autobiog. of a Thief’ in Macmillan’s Mag. (London) XL 500: Early next morning my pals said they knew where we could get some toke (food).
1885		M. Davitt Leaves from a Prison Diary I 161: Brixton for good toke and cocoa with fat; / Dartmoor for bad grub but plenty of chat.
1899		R. Whiteing No. 5 John Street 221: When the show was shut, I washes off the burnt cork, and sits down to my toke and pipe.
1900		Sporting Times 31 Mar. 2/1: As you walk along the street / You can hear the punters bleat / ‘J’yer? Here’s anuvver treat! / No toke we’ve ’ad to eat / Since the bloomin’ ’orse got beat.’.
1907		Sun. Times (Perth) 6 Oct. 4/8: We’ve tackled the toughest of toke, / And the worst in the West had to eat.
1914		E. Pugh Cockney At Home 64: Her mouth seemed like as if it wasn’t never made for toke, but only kissin’.
1925		(con. WWI) Fraser & Gibbons Soldier and Sailor Words 287: Toke: Food.
1943		J. Phelan Letters from the Big House 35: Now Lugs, don’t be greedy. Cop for yer own toke and leave Twilly’s alone.