Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to hit, to beat, to flog; e.g. of a boxer, to defeat (heavily); also fig. use; thus whapper, woppern.

1575		Depositions Court Durham (1845) 292: The said James contynewed in his raidge, bragging and swerynge, and said that he wold ‘whapp his coott’ [...] and he wold meit hym in any place he durste.
1814		Mthly Mag. 38 333: Whop, a heavy blow. Whop, v. to strike with heavy blows.
1826		Pierce Egan’s Life in London 8 Oct. 706/1: Witness— [...] she whopped me with the poker, —she is very partial to the poker.
1827		W. Clarke Every Night Book 37: The [...] broad-shouldered young giant by your side is Peter Crawley, who lately whopped the phenomenon Ward.
1828		‘A Flat Enlightened’ Life in the West II 15: ‘Vy I nose a chap as vullvap you’.
1828		G. Smeeton Doings in London 66: A carpet-beater, commonly called Bob Wingrove the dust-whapper.
1834		‘The Mill’ Museum of Mirth 45/2: Why, sir, they were both so wapped, I couldn’t tell which had the wictory.
1836–7		Dickens Pickwick Papers (1999) 560: It seems but yesterday that he whopped the coal-heaver.
1838		R. Nicholson Cockney Adventures 6 Jan. 75: I’m blowed if we won’t wop these thieves, if you’ll help us.
1840		E. Howard Jack Ashore I 300: Poll [...] as sure as bogs are bogs, I’ll wop you into a mummy if you are not quiet.
1847		Thackeray Punch’s Prize Novelists: Codlingsby in Burlesques (1903) 165: Down he goes again! I like wapping a Lord!
1848		Thackeray Vanity Fair I 103: They’ve whopped John Scroggins till he’s well nigh dead.
1850		Bell’s Life in Sydney 9 Mar. 3/2: In fact, although Mrs. C. accused James of beating her, it waas self-evident that it was she who was the ‘wopper’ .
1853		R.S. Surtees Mr Sponge’s Sporting Tour 387: Whop his horse, whop his wife; whop his wife, whop his horse. Reg’lar Rule-of-three sum.
1854		‘Lovely Albert’ in Henderson Victorian Street Ballads (1937) 149: When Vic, ’tis said, jumped out of bed / And wopped him with her nightcap.
1859		G.F. Atkinson Curry & Rice (3 edn) n.p.: Mrs. McGhee often whops Barbara because she doesn’t get married.
1861		Examiner (London) 10 Aug. 5/1: I’ll take the parchment crittur again [...] and whop it catawompously when we gits among the houses.
1866		Wild Boys of London I 32/2: It’s jist like we sees at the play, when Pitt plays a big brother, and wops a little fellow.
1877		Sussex Advertiser 23 June 4/6: I was sure to be whopped for it.
1887		W.S. Gilbert ‘Story of Prince Agib’ Fifty ‘Bab’ Ballads 119: I was fastened to the floor, / While a mercenary wopped me with a will.
1888		W.B. Churchward Blackbirding In The South Pacific 17: The only thing these men were regular in was getting drunk [...] and whopping the boy.
1891		Sporting Times 7 Mar. 2/4: Small blame to the latter if they do their best to ‘whop’ their opponents.
1891		T.B. Reed Cock House Fellsgarth 209: ‘How very naughty of them not to stay and be whopped’.
1892		Kipling ‘Gunga Din’ Barrack-Room Ballads (1893) 164: We shouted ‘Harry By!’ / Till our throats were bricky-dry, / Then we wopped ’im ’cause ’e couldn’t serve us all.
1894		‘Price Warung’ Tales of the Early Days 286: ’E wor wun o’ them sort as must ’av a ’ooman to whop, to ease the temper, like.
1901		Boy’s Own Paper 13 Apr. 438: The captain [...] will either give you extra fagging or ‘whop’ you.
1913		A. Lunn Harrovians 33: Run off your ruddy legs, and then whopped for not playing up at the end of it.
1922		T.E. Spencer ‘Liza’ Budgeree Ballads 83: Why I wops me poor old mare, although I prize her.
1927		C. Woofter ‘Dialect Words and Phrases from West-Central West Virginia’ in AS II:8 366: My pap will whop me if I learn to write.
1938		J. Curtis They Drive by Night 270: He’s bound to be a miserable old cowson and likes to wop it in, so if you call him ‘your Worship’ he’ll feel pleased with himself.
1940		M. Marples Public School Slang 36: To cane [...] whop.
1941		K. Tennant Battlers 173: Didn’t we just wop into them big slabs of cake with cream in the middle?
1943		W. Guthrie Bound for Glory (1969) 82: I’m gonna whop blisters on yore little hide.
1945		R.L. Bellem ‘Poison Payoff’ Hollywood Detective Dec. 🌐 She [...] whapped me across the chops.
1953		W. Eyster Far from the Customary Skies 305: I’m ’bout to wop the lot of yuh one.
1963		E.J. Gaines ‘Just Like A Tree’ in King Black Short Story Anthol. (1972) 196: Mama [...] done whop me on the leg with Daddy belt.
1967		L. Bruce Essential Lenny Bruce 210: They whap me out, punch me.
1972		G.V. Higgins Friends of Eddie Coyle 5: She whaps me right across the face with that ruler.
1972		Hall & Adelman Gentleman of Leisure 43: Some of them get whopped and smacked around.
1977		(con. 1960s) Nicholson & Smith Spend, Spend, Spend (1978) 103: He turned round and wopped him one right in the face.
1981		G.V. Higgins Rat on Fire (1982) 129: Alfred jumped a cop and tried to whap him around with a tire iron.
1983		S. King Christine 81: We goofed around the croquet course for a while, not really playing, just whopping the Jesus out of each other’s balls.
1991		W.T. Vollmann Whores for Gloria 37: Now there’s my fuckin’ soldier! cried Code Six in delight, whapping Jimmy on the back.
1992		R.C. Cruz Straight Outta Compton 17: Rain pellets wopping our big heads like cough drops.
1993		J. Mowry Six Out Seven (1994) 11: He got whopped if his mom or dad caught him.
2000		N. Griffiths Grits 291: Amphets whapped straight into yer bloodstream is wha drug use is all about.
2001		(con. 1964–8) J. Ellroy Cold Six Thousand 156: They whopped his ribs. They whopped his knees. They aired it out good.
2015		S. King Finders Keepers (2016) 369: Some of the nurses believe that being whopped repeatedly on the head [...] somehow rearranged Hartsfield’s brains.

2. to have sexual intercourse.

c.1660

‘A Man and a Young Maid’ in Furnivall & Hales Bishop Percy’s Folio Manuscript of Loose and Humorous Songs (1868) 51: The maid shee lay drooping, hye; / the man he lay whopping, hey, the man he lay whopping hoe.

3. to overcome, to surpass, to defeat.

1832		Egan Bk of Sports 302: It should also be recollected that the latter boxer had also wopped himself (Jem Burn).
1851		R.S. Surtees Young Tom Hall (1926) 12: ‘Well, I hope Bullhide won’t whop us,’ observed the colonel, referring to the dog-match.
1862		Thackeray Adventures of Philip (1899) 306: Bunch had put his boys to a famous school, where they might ‘whop’ the French boys and learn all the modern languages.
1899–1900		C.L. Cullen Tales of the Ex-Tanks 339: Sloughing off [...] the ten dollars [...] by trying to whop other banks during the afternoon.
1949		(con. 1943–5) A. Murphy To Hell and Back (1950) 11: ‘But you whipped ’em.’ ‘We whopped ’em all right.’.

4. (US) to shoot.

1912

J. London Smoke Bellew (1926) 188: Turn him around to face the other bank — that’s how you whopped him in the back.