Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US) to destroy, to annihilate completely, esp. in a financial or business context.

1870		Old Hunks in Darkey Drama 5 49: Oh, dar’s such a whopping rat I see in dis berry room not five minutes ago. Dat’s what carved up de chicken in de larder, what you rattened me for.
a.1909		press cutting in J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 65/2: That dear grave holds a disappointed chap who cum out here from Reno to carve me up.
1940		M. de la Roche Whiteoak Heritage (1949) 21: We want to hear how he carved up the Germans.

2. to attack (and cut) with a razor, a knife or other bladed weapon; also in fig. use.

1884		(con. c.1840) ‘Mark Twain’ Huckleberry Finn 147: Pa’s got a few buck-shot in him [...] Bob’s been carved up some with a bowie.
1889		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 21 Dec. 6/3: Elliott went to the house of Carter Hayden [...] and proceeded to carve up five persons.
1908		Wenatchee Dly World (WA) 2 Apr. 4/4: An unknown man was arrested [...] for threatening to carve up several small boys [...] When searched by the cops he gave up a pruning knife.
1912		Day Book (Chicago) 16 Feb. 5/2: The swords went slashing away as if they wanted to carve up the whole neighborhood.
1928		C. McKay Home to Harlem 285: All these cut-thwoat niggers in Harlem ready to carve up one another foh a li’l’ insisnificant [sic] humpy.
1938		F.D. Sharpe Sharpe of the Flying Squad 55: He seemed very frightened lest the mob should get to know that he was helping me. He feared that they would ‘carve him up’.
1946		C.S. Montanye ‘Opals Are Unlucky’ in Thrilling Detective Jan. 🌐 I’m carving you up, like a Thanksgiving turkey.
1955		D. Niland Shiralee 51: Didn’t he do time for carving some bloke up.
1960		F. Norman in Daily Mail 18 May in Norman’s London (1969) 95: If the chaps wanted to carve each other up then it was their affair.
1977		L. Heinemann Close Quarters (1987) 169: Listen, you shine, we ’bout carved up one jungle bunny t’night.
1984		‘Derek Raymond’ He Died with His Eyes Open 54: Christ, they din half carve him up.
1999		Guardian Rev.w 18 June 7: Stott and Connolly carve each other up under the shadow of Edinburgh Castle.
2000		M. Collins Keepers of Truth 22: I ain’t saying any man deserved to be carved up by his son, but you can’t say it wasn’t coming.
2009		T. Black Gutted 253: I couldn’t trust he wouldn’t go radge and carve up this Gibby kid.

3. to swindle, to cheat.

1936		J. Curtis Gilt Kid 54: He had lost seven days’ remission in prison for hitting a cleaner whom he thought to be carving him up over his rations.
1950		P. Hoskins No Hiding Place! 190/1: Carve him up. Double-cross him.
1992		in R. Graef Living Dangerously 166: People on the streets carve you up but they also cover up for you.

4. (UK Und.) to share out booty, profits etc.

[1902		Edinburgh Eve. News 23 Jan. 2/5: Politicians who would go cap in hand to Russia inviting her to carve up the territory of a friendly state, and graciously hand over any scraps that she does not want for herself].
c.1950		K. Howard Small Time Crooks 14: Finding that New York territory was already carved up by bigger shots than he, Marc wisely decided to seek his fortune elsewhere.
1975		‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell and the Three-card Trick (1977) 91: Carve it up any way you fancy as long as one of you gets up there and says the necessary.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 3: Jeremy’s twenty can be carved up between us.
2004		N. ‘Razor’ Smith A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun 90: After we had [...] carved up the proceeds, there were smiles all round.
2011		J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 301: Ted’s whack would pay for itself; at the moment we’re carving nothing.

5. of a driver, to force another out of the way through aggressive (and potentially dangerous) driving.

1984

Partridge DSUE (8th edn) 186/1: since late 1970s.

6. to overwhelm, to ‘destroy’.

1999

Observer Rev. 15 Aug. 9: Lenny Bruce went in and carved them [the audience] up.