Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(a) (UK Und., also serve up) to injure, to wound; thus serve out and out, to murder; also fig., i.e. to treat badly.

1519		J. Rastell The Four Elements line 1165: I servyd another wors: I smot of his legge by the hard ars.
1592		Groundworke of Conny-catching -catching Ch. 16: I be mocked and laughed to scorne in all places, when they shal heare how I haue bin served.
1672		J. Lacy Old Troop V i: If you serve me such another trick, I’ll break your Windows.
1675		F. Fane Love in the Dark III i: She place you? ’twas a cunning honest trick of her. A man had been finely serv’d that had come with a dishonest intent, la.
1699		A great & famous scoldling-match 5: [S]ure you might have told her how she served the Baker’s Boy. I see him stand [...] cringing against a Wall.
1733		Laugh and Be Fat 5: Now he is in one of his Frenzical Humours, he will certainly Geld you; and I dare say he is wetting his Knife for the same Purpose: He has lately serv’d two or three so already.
1774		Caledonian Mercury 6 Aug. 2/2: Downie [...] gave Darling a large cut across the belly with his sythe [...] the grieve stepped in between them, when Downie called out if he did not get out of the way, he would serve him in the same way.
1800		‘Lovely Nan’ Jovial Songster 52: In the bilboes I was pen’d / For serving of a worthless friend.
1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 264: To serve a man, also sometimes signifies to maim, wound, or do him some bodily hurt; and to serve him out and out, is to kill him.
1824		Annals of Sporting 1 Mar. 200/1: He got served for his temerity, being met by a left-handed counter-hit upon the jugular.
1829		Morn. Post 16 Feb. 4/2: He told Tom that if he called him a resurrection man again, ‘he would sarve him out in the Burke fashion, and plaister up his chaps’.
1833		C.A. Davis Letters of Major J. Downing (1835) 15: I want to sarve ’em as Captain Jumper sarves rats in the Two Pollies, — smoke ’em out.
1834		York Herald 3 May 4/3: I’m blow’d if I don’t sarve you out on your b—y konk.
1842		Whip & Satirist of NY & Brooklyn (NY) 12 Mar. n.p.: We intend to serve the girls up that live in her house, as well as the old hag that keeps the brothel.
1848		J. Syme Nine Years in Van Diemen’s Land 263: On asking Howe if he had killed Slambow, he replied, ‘Yes; and I’ll serve you the same as soon as I can load the piece.’.
1850		F.E. Smedley Frank Fairlegh (1878) 482: You’re a willain, and I could find in my heart to serve you as your precious nephew [...] and his hired bullies have served me.
1862		‘Artemus Ward’ Artemus Ward, His Book 193: This tiger has a excentric way of tearin clogs to peaces, and I allers sposed from his gineral conduck that he’d hav no hesitashun in servin human beins in the same way.
1876		Sheffield Indep. 23 Dec. 15/3: ‘I’ll serve you as I’ve just served Jack!’ ‘What have you done to Jack?’ I gsped. ‘Ask this axe,’ laughed the ruffian.
1914		‘Bartimeus’ ‘A One-Gun Salute’ in Naval Occasions 193: ‘I’d serve ’er to rights,’ said a youthful Second-Class Stoker darkly.
1967		‘Whisper All Aussie Dict.’ in Kings Cross Whisper (Sydney) xxxix 4/5: serve: To give a person thrashing. ‘Give the mug a serve.’.
1975		Bulletin (Sydney) 26 Apr. 46: The fucking back-ups fell out of the roof and the whole fucking place got into the act. Heaps got served up and Punchy give it to about four before some fucking arse gave it to him with a bottle.
1984		B. Ellem Doing Time 196: serve: to reprimand someone especially with physical force; for example, ‘give him a serve’.
1988		MC Lyte ‘10% Dis’ 🎵 I’m a-serve and burn ya like a piece of toast.
1996		P. Beatty White Boy Shuffle 93: You gonna serve niggers today like I used to, baby?
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 261: First Morty uppin Freddie then Jimmy gettin served.
2011		J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 43: I’m ready to [...] get tooled up, and serve the cunt.
2014		Young Jeezy ‘Holy Ghost’ 🎵 So I regret the day you ever serve that nigga / Took 5 years of your life, you didn't deserve that nigga.

(b) to rob, to hold up.

1835		Metropolitan Mag. XIV Sept. 333: Our suit [...] got on pretty well — we served it out to three flatty-gories in the first week, clying upwards of a hundred couple of quid.
1842		Colonial Times (Hobart) 26 Apr. 3/2: [T]he prisoner said that he and a man named Middleton had ‘served’ Smith’s house, and had got three silver watches, one gold watch, some jewellery, and £11 in money.
1872		Falkirk Herald 27 Apr. 4/6: Holloway had found out a gentleman to ‘sarve’ on Hounslow Heath.

(c) (US black) to kill.

1999		Dr Dre ‘Murder Ink’ 🎵 Resume the wifey boo shit, cause yo my man don’t know / that his bitch is straight ill, servin ass with fo’fo’.
2002		‘Touré’ Portable Promised Land (ms.) 158: We Words (My Favorite Things) [...] Not pressed. Get waxed. Get served. Get smoked.
2011		J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 188: Roy could get us all served-up.

(a) (also serve someone’s end, serve someone’s turn, serve the turn (to), serve turn) to have sexual intercourse (with).

c.1561		Awdeley Fraternitye of Vacabondes in Viles & Furnivall (1907) 4: The Vpright man [...] may also commaund any of their women, which they cal Doxies, to serue his turn.
1569–70		T. Preston Cambyses B3: ruf.: I will giue thee sixpence to lye one night with thee. meretrix: Gogs hart slaue dost thinke I am a sixpeny Jug: No wis ye Jack I looke a little more smug. snuf.: I will giue her viii pence to serue me first.
1587–8		Marlowe Tamburlaine Pt 2 IV iii: And let them [i.e. concubines] equally serve all your turns.
1594		Merry Knack to Know a Knave F2: And Kate the kitchin maid [...] She will serve the turne to keep him companie.
1606		E. Sharpham Fleire I iii: I haue heard of one woman hath seru’d ten men, but I neuer heard that one man should bee preferred to serue two women before.
1611		L. Barry Ram-Alley III i: But now a tweluepeny weekley Landress, Will serue the turne to halfe a dozen of them.
1622		Fletcher Sea-Voyage IV i: I had rather serve hogs, there’s more delight in’t; Your greedy appetites are never satisfied.
1623		Massinger Bondman II ii: They haue made my Doctor too Phisitian to the Army, he was vs’de To serue the turn at a pinch: but I am now Quite vnprouided.
1626		H. Parrot Cvres for the Itch C3: Her maids are young, and serue for hire.
c.1639		J.D. Knave in Graine V i : Any man may serve two Mistresses ... And serve their turns well.
c.1642		T. Killigrew Parson’s Wedding (1664) I ii: Him! marry, God bless all good women from him; why, he talks as if the Dairy-maid and all her Cows could not serve his turn.
1651		T. Randolph Hey for Honesty III iii: The dairymaid shall serve my turn.
1660		Wandring Whore III 7: I’le tell you how Cock Chambers lately served a puny Brewers Clerk as he was wandering in the fields for that purpose.
1674		T. Duffet Epilogue Spoken by Heccate and Three Witches 34: But of all the brisk bawdes ’tis M--- for me [...] She can serve from the Lord, to the Squire and Clown, From a Guinny she’ll fit ye to half a Crown.
a.1680		S. Butler Characters 133: Rather than not serve her Country [she] would suffer an Army to march over her Belly, as Sir Rice ap Thomas did.
1682		Buckingham Chances III vi: Bid her make haste, we come to see no curious Wench, a Night-Gown will serve turn.
c.1700		‘The Deptford Plumb-Cake’ in Ebsworth Bagford Ballads (1878) I 72: You know that he’s a Lad so free, / and willing to serve us all.
1714		Pope Wife of Bath 215: The Clerk and I [...] We grew so intimate, I can’t tell how, I pawn’d my Honour and ingag’d my Vow, If e’er laid my Husband in his Urn, That he, and only he, shou’d serve my Turn.
1720		in D’Urfey Pills to Purge Melancholy V 227: To shew he could a Lady serve, As well as the Hollander.
1734		Pope Sober Advice from Horace line 151: A tight, neat Girl, will serve the Turn.
1748		Spy on Mother Midnight I 20: He’ll serve you so handsomely.
1751		Pope ‘The Capon’s Tale’ Misc. IV 61: A clean, Pains-taking Woman, / Fed numerous Poultry in her Pens, / And saw her Cocks well serve her Hens [...] Such, Lady Mary, are your Tricks; / But since you hatch, pray own your Chicks; / You should be better skill’d in Nocks, / Nor like your Capon, serve your Cocks.
1772		Bridges Burlesque Homer (3rd edn) 392: And all the virgins in the town / Expect they shall be ravished soon [...] At any time they’ll let you serve ’em.
1820		J. Winston Drury Lane Jrnl 17 Jan. 4: Kean [...] had frequently three women to ‘stroke’ during performances and that two waited while the other was served.
1834		‘Those Ladies Queams’ Black Joke 6: They’re not content unless they spend, / All he has got to serve their end.
c.1850		Peeping Tom (London) 42 166/2: Could you get none to serve but some Newgate stallion [...] that wrongs my bed.
1937		J. Curtis There Ain’t No Justice 86: Maybe she was short of a bit. It was on the cards that Arthur could not serve her good. He looked a weakling sort of a bastard.
1986		Run-DMC ‘Peter Piper’ 🎵 Jack’s servin Jill, bucket in his hand.
1993		Snoop Doggy Dogg ‘Doggy Dogg World’ 🎵 I flip flop and serve hoes with a fat dick.
1999		Dr Dre ‘Fuck You’ 🎵 Twenty-fo’ seven, Dre, Snoop, and Devin / We servin’ these hoes, and never lovin these hoes, beotch!

(b) (US black/prison) to assault sexually, to rape.

1993		(con. 1984) K. Scott Monster (1994) 293: This nigga ain’t hooked up in shit. Serve this nigga.
1993		Snoop Doggy Dogg ‘Tha Shiznit’ 🎵 Serve your ass with a motherfucking AK.

(a) (UK Und.) to convict and sentence.

1811		Lex. Balatronicum n.p.: Served. Found guilty. Convicted. Ordered to be punished or transported. [...] The cull was served for macing and napp’d the stoop; he was convicted of swindling, and put in the pillory.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1845		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 1 Nov. 83/3: The man figured in London [...] as one of the leaders of the swell mob, and was considered as the best ‘screwsman’ and ‘fitter’ in the mteropolis, but was finally ‘served’ with a term in Botany Bay.
1848		Bell’s Life in Sydney 26 Feb. 1/4: Jack gets served [i.e. transported] and I napped Thrums in Slangs.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum.
1895		C. Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 71: Served, found guilty.

(b) (N.Z.) to abuse.

1982

G. Newbold Big Huey 253: serve (v) 1. Criticise, abuse.

(c) (N.Z.) to tell lies.

1982

G. Newbold Big Huey 253: serve (v) [...] 2. Tell a storyfull of lies.

(d) (US) to dominate.

1985

N. George ‘Rappin’ with Russell’ in Buppies, B-Boys, Baps and Bohos (1994) 49: He chortled later [...] about serving them at the meeting.