Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to execute by hanging [early use suggests abbrev. of turn off the ladder].

1581		B. Riche Farewell to Military Profession (1992) 255: The lawyer [had] Such a piteous countenance as though he had been ready to be turned off the ladder.
1590		Book of Sir Thomas Moore facs.(E,C) (1911) I viii: I care not to bee tournd off, and twere a ladder, so it bee in my humor, or the fates becon to mee [...] and to avoid the headach, hereafter before Ile bee a hayrmonger Ile bee a whore monger.
1605		Go[ds] vvonderfull mercies n.p.: [S]o hauing ended his prayers, he was turned off the Ladder and hanged.
1615		T. Overbury New and Choise Characters n.p.: A Sarjeant [...] the gallowes are his purlues in which the hangman and hee are the quarter rangers, the one turnes of and the other cuts downe.
1622		T. Field A Christians preparation 81: If any of you had offended the Law in any heinous manner, and [...] had the Halter about his neck, vpon the Gallowes, being ready to be turned off the Ladder [etc].
1634		P. Studley The looking-glasse of schisme 163: And when hee was ready to bee turned off, hee cryed twice with a loud voice, God bee mercifull to mee a great Sinner.
1641		T. Fannant A trve relation of that memorable Parliament 28: [T]he rope was about his neck ready to be turned off.
1651		Anne Green a young woman that was lately, and unjustly hanged 3: [T]he Executioner did his Office: and being turned off the Ladder, her Kinsman took hold of her feet, and hung with all the weight and force of his body on them, that so he might the sooner rid her of her pain.
1665		Head Eng. Rogue I 44: They must expect less kindness from them, then a Condemned person about to be tyed up by the Hang-man, who will stay till he is ready to be turned off.
1670		P. Heylyn History of the Presbyterians 308: [H]e was turned off the Ladder, and presently cut down, ript up, and quartered, according unto the Law.
1681		C. Nesse Church Hist. 139: He turns himself off when he has tyed his Halter for his turn, and put his Head into it.
1693		J. Tutchin The bloody assizes 454: [H]e was turned off, to the great grief of the good People of the Town, especially those of his own Congregation.
1701		Cibber Love Makes a Man V i: I may come to the Tree [...] about Twelve you’ll be turn’d off.
1721		Penkethman’s Jests 8: Two Brothers coming to be executed for some enormous Crime; the eldest was first turn’d off.
1734		C. Johnson Hist. of Highwaymen &c 344: He was at Tyburn, with the Halter about his Neck, and just ready to be turn’d off.
1740		Trial of Charles Drew 40: When he came to the Tree, he expressed the utmost Reluctance at parting with Life driving off the fatal minute. [...] Then he was turned off.
1777		Newcastle Courant 5 July 3/4: Just as he was turned off there was a universal silence; tears flowed from many eyes.
1780		New London Jester 94: A deserter just going to be turned off the ladder.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: dismal ditty the psalm sung by the felons at the gallows, just before they are turned off.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1821		‘A Real Paddy’ Real Life in Ireland 114: Two brothers were hanged at Knockmanafaddy: the one being turned off, the other addressed the crowd; ‘Behold,’ said he, ‘my brother, and take warning!’.
1830		Memoirs of the Late Capt. Hugh Crow 26: His Eboe friends continued to cheer him [...] until he was turned off the scaffold.
1847		J.E. Walsh Ireland Sixty Years Ago (1885) 81: When the criminal was turned off, the ‘dusting of the scrag-boy’ began, the hangman was assailed, not merely with shouts and curses, but often with showers of stones.
1853		C.R. Read What I Heard, Saw, and Did 11: My one-eyed acquaintance asked [...] ‘whether he thought poor Bill so-and-so, as the traps had catched, would get scragged, and if so, if he would get turned off at Bathurst or Sydney?’.
1874		‘A.P.’ [Arthur Pember] Mysteries and Miseries 174: [R]ansacking their memories for the horrors of previous executions which they had witnessed [...] , and numbering up how many they had seen ‘turned off.’ .
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 25 Apr. 18/4: Touching the case of Charles Watson, who was recently ‘turned off’ for the Cowl Cowl murder, we notice that a faint cry for the abolition of capital punishment is again being made.
1897		‘Price Warung’ Tales of the Old Regime 211: Oh, my Jack Ketch beauties, ye’re going to be turned off are ye.
1910		Bulletin (Sydney) 27 Oct. 14/1: Other hangmen? Yes... The cove that turned off the Mount Rennie boys was a policeman with 15 years’ service when he resigned to take charge of the rope.
1936		(con. 1900s) F. Richards Old Soldier Sahib (1965) 84: It gives a man a wonderful appetite for his breakfast to assist at turning-off a dozen or more rebels.
1974		(ref. to 18C) A. Pierrepoint Executioner 55: In the old days of the Tyburn gallows, of course, prisoners were turned off a dozen at a time and allowed to strangle.

2. to dismiss from a job.

1609		R. Mason A mirrour for merchants n.p.: [T]he ordinary and necessary seruants turned off, and the gate of pitie and compassion fast locked and sealed vp.
1622		C. Fitz-Geffry Elisha his lamentation 35: So shall the Preacher, [...] be turned off without pay, or payed with reproch.
1693		A Vindication of Her Grace, Mary Dutchess of Norfolk 20: Hudson, a poor Roguy, Tricking Footman, that was turned off for his ill Bahavior.
1742		N. Hooke Sarah-Ad 7: The next was – when, without a Warning, / My Mistress turn’d me off one Morning.
1750		Norfolk Garland 2: By one of her Father’s poor young Serving Men, In private this Creature was courted, and when Her Father he came to understand the same, He turn’d his Man off, & with Frowns did her blame.
1765		Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies 107: [of a mistress] Miss Betty was lately taken into keeping by a sheriffs court officer, but turned off about nine months ago.
1784		Reading Mercury 12 Apr. 4/4: Till he at length was turned off, / And Will Pond got his place.
1818		W. Perry London Guide 6: The latter of whom [i.e. hackney coachmen] are mostly ‘turned off’ characters — a few are ‘returned lags’; neither to be trusted.
1866		Wild Boys of London I 42: ‘We can try,’ said Morgan, the overseer. ‘I can’t turn him off, but I’ll get the men to give him a sickener.’.
1940		E.F. Frazier Negro Youth 172: If these white people get mad, they will turn off all those men they have [employed] now’.

3. (US) to terminate a relationship.

1861

N.E. Police Gaz. (Boston, MA) 5 Oct. 8/2: Annie Brown has turned off her old lover and taken Bill Eaton to her arms.

4. (US Und.) to break open; often when using some form of picklock; to rob.

1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 88/1: Upon reaching the place Joe ‘turned off’ the ‘paddy.’.
1892		W. Norr Stories of Chinatown 50: Pete Reagan and Kid Carroll had turned off some big nabob, and getting leary, had given me the stuff to keep until the thing blew over.
1900		A.H. Lewis ‘Crime That Failed’ in Sandburrs 77: Any old hobo could toin off d’ play.
1915		Sun (NY) 15 June 16/5: Well, the devil came right back up to me and said: ‘Why not go right out and turn off a trick, Lucky?’.
1921		P. & T. Casey Gay-cat 160: He kin turn off a safe like it was a seegar box.
1928		C. Panzram Journal of Murder in Gaddis & Long (2002) 116: To pull off a hot prowl is to turn off a trick in a private or a joint that is to be kipped or bugged; that is to rob a place where people are sleeping or that is wired.
1930		M. Fiaschetti You Gotta Be Rough 24: [H]is expensive apartment had been turned off and a lot of gilt-edged junk started on its way to the fences.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 229/1: Turn off. To rob a place; to burglarize.