button, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

button v.

1. (UK Und.) to act as a confidence trickster’s accomplice, a decoy; thus buttoning n. [button n.² (1)].

1859		Matsell Vocabulum 16: button. To secure; to entice a simpleton to play.
1874		Derbyshire Courier 12 Dec. 7/1: Local Flash language [...] buttoner [sic], to entice another to play.
1881		Trumble Sl. Dict. (1890).
1902		Truth (Brisbane) 23 Feb. 3/5: Pickin’ pockets — cadging rhino — / Buttonin’ fur a speelin’ crew.
1907		Sun. Times (Perth) 4 Aug. 4/8: I’ve cut with takedown tugs / And buttoned for balancing books.

2. in fig., non-criminal sense: to work hand-in-glove with.

1889		Dead Bird (Sydney) 20 July 3/3: There are mighty moral people butt’ning for the books, no doubt.
1902		W.A. Sun. Times (Perth) 26 Jan. 1/1: A law for the compulsory registration of midwives is urgently needed [since] many of the local Sairey Gamps appear to be buttoning for the undertakers.

3. of a trick, a ploy, to work [button n.² (1)].

1910

O. Johnson Varmint 59: ‘I mean that it don’t button, you young pirate,’ said Al scornfully [...] ‘When you try anything as slick as that again you want to be sure the real owner ain’t been around.’.

4. (US prison) to keep a lookout [button n.² (2)].

1992

Bentley & Corbett Prison Sl. 40: To button is to be a lookout. ‘Do you want me to button for you while you are doing that tattoo?’.

In phrases

button it (v.)

see button one’s lip v.

button one’s lip (v.)

see separate entry.

button on to (v.) [the grabbing of the jacket buttons]

to grab hold of someone before forcing oneself on their company, whether they like it or not.

1900		Herald (Adelaide) 14 July 9/1: ‘Tom's a warm ’un!’ ‘You’ve buttoned on to him, then—you speak familiarly of him’.
1912		Bulletin (Sydney) 12 Dec. 28/1: He arrived early at the sacred building, and at once a couple of aged brethren, having nothing else to do, buttoned on to him, and talked about Wesley and his tenets, and asked a lot of unpleasant questions regarding his soul.
1937–84		Partridge DSUE (1984) 167/1: 1904.

button up (v.) [fig. uses of SE; orig. US stockbrocker jargon]

1. to be quiet; to silence; thus buttoning up n.

[1747–8		J. Trapp Explanatory Notes on the Gospels Matthew xxii 46: How easily can God button up the mouths of our busiest adversaries [F&H]].
1856		Abbeville Banner (SC) 19 June 1/5: Button up his lip and knock him bang-up!!
1859		Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (2nd edn) 61: Buttoning up. A Wall Street phrase [...] when a broker [...] is a loser, he keeps the matter to himself [...] This is called buttoning up.
1934		(con. 1920s) J.T. Farrell Young Manhood in Studs Lonigan (1936) 208: Hey, grandpa! Button up.
1944		J.T. Farrell ‘Street Scene’ in To Whom It May Concern 70: Come on, button up, you!
1949		N. Algren Man with the Golden Arm 90: If you don’t button up I’ll sue you for breach of promise.
1966		M. Rumaker Exit 3 and Other Stories 163: Take a swig of the bottle, Gyp, and button up.
1989		K. Dunn Geek Love 204: Squeak-brain here is going to button up, too.
1999		G. Seal Lingo 198: stick it up your arse is an expression of antagonism and disagreement and button up! means be quiet!

2. (Aus.) of a person, to keep hold of their money.

1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 17 Mar. 24/2: [H]e must have raked in a goodly pile from Mo, who, however, consoles himself with the knowledge that there’s little fear of him ‘buttoning up.’ So it will all find its way back sooner or later.
1955		B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 153: If he lost a grand [...] he never blinked an eyelid. Nor did he show any emotion if he buttoned-up a couple of grand to the good.

3. to close, to shut down; to withhold information; thus buttoned up adj.

1922		C. Drew Rogues and Ruses (1923) 159: ‘If I do this, I’ll button up for the night’.
1955		B. Schulberg On the Waterfront (1964) 241: Spill or button up.
1965		H. Rhodes Chosen Few (1966) 116: Blood and Mama Thirty-Eight couldn’t get down to business until the club was buttoned up for the night.
1983		B. Gelb Vanished Brass 114: Courtenay and Schwartz were buttoning things up when the commissioner stopped in to say goodnight.

4. (US prison) to place in solitary confinement; thus buttoned up adj.

1935

A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks 17/1: Buttoned up, in solitary confinement (prison).

button up the day (v.)

(US) to quit work for the day.

1967

(con. 1920s) J. Thompson South of Heaven (1994) 95: We’ll do [...] [e]very damned bit of it before we button up the day.