Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US) to survive, esp. to survive intensive police interrogation.

1929		C.G. Givens ‘The Chatter of Guns’ in Sat. Eve. Post 13 Apr.; list extracted in AS VI:2 1930 131: ace, v. To survive the third degree without giving in.
1943		‘“Ace” and its Progeny’ in AS XVIII:1 Feb. 71/2: ace, v. To bear up under the third degree.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 17/1: Ace it. To prove oneself trustworthy in an emergency; as, for example, under police grilling. ‘Mike the Burglar is one ghee (fellow) you can count on to ace it when there’s a rumble (interference) on a caper (robbery).’.
1956		N. Algren Walk on the Wild Side 258: They jumped on my feet. They slapped my ears till I couldn’t hear. They put the glare in my eyes and held the lids open [...] but I aced it.

2. (US) to manipulate someone, esp. through flattery or deception.

1933		R. Chandler ‘Blackmailers Don’t Shoot’ in Red Wind (1946) 115: You aced yourself backwards when you let Landrey pack those letters around with him.
1943		‘“Ace” and its Progeny’ in AS XVIII:1 Feb. 71/2: ace, v. [...] Also to cheat, defraud, swindle.
1958		Times (Munster, IN) 19 Jan. 56/1: Slang keeps changing to keep up [...] ‘Aced Out— Fooled, exhausted.
1961		(con. early 1950s) J. Peacock Valhalla 333: Take a psycho [...] Play nuts and you’ll ace out of it.
1968		K. Brasselle Cannibals 106: I’ve done everything in the world to ace the scumbug out of position.
1975		J. Roe The Same Old Grind 162: ‘I aced you into this [...] Put it on my tab’.

3. (US) to move or drive fast.

1943		‘“Ace and its Progeny’ in AS XVIII:1 Feb. 71/2: ace it. Go fast, or drive fast.
1997–2000		Da Bomb 🌐 ace (v) To leave wherever you are at without further delay Yo bro, let’s ace or we’re gonna miss this thing [University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 1999].

4. (US) to lead.

1953

F. Paley Rumble on the Docks (1955) 93: Go with Rocky, and make him ace the rumble.

5. (orig. US campus, also ace it, ace out) to do well, to succeed, e.g. in an examination.

1959		L.P. Boone ‘Gator Sl.’ AS XXXIV:2 156: To make a perfect score on a test is to ace it or bust it.
1960		G. Swarthout Where the Boys Are 6: Grinning at each other as though we had at last aced life itself. [Ibid.] 19: He aced his courses without buying books.
1963		Dundes & Schonhorn ‘Kansas University Sl.: A New Generation’ in AS XXXVIII:3 168: To acquit oneself creditably in an examination: ace out […] [Ibid.] ace it.
1965		Wisconsin State Jrnl 17 Jan 1-2: Getting an ‘A’ on a test is ‘aceing’ it or ‘hooking’ it. Getting an ‘F’ or failing is called ‘flagging’.
1973		Time 29 Oct. 98: The question of whether Hart will get his grades, whether he will ace-out Kingsfield’s course.
1979		B. Gutcheon New Girls (1982) 306: She [...] felt great that she was going to ace her exams.
1983		R. Price Breaks 33: No matter how many sociology [...] courses I might have aced [etc.].
1990		(con. early 1950s) J. Ellroy L.A. Confidential 61: With the lieutenant’s exam aced, within a year he would stand as Detective Lieutenant E. J. Exley.
1999		Indep. Rev. 27 July 4: A player who auditions aces the read and wins the role.
2000		M. Collins Keepers of Truth 24: Good luck on the exam, precious. I hope you ace it.
2005		K. Huff Steady Rain I i: I do know I aced that detective exam the third time in a row….
2012		R.T. Brown ‘Indebted’ in C. Rhatigan and N. Bird (eds) Pulp Ink 2 [ebook] That thing deep down [...] that let him ace exams after skipping class all semester.
2020		D. Winslow ‘The San Diego Zoo’ in Broken 166: ‘How did you do?’ ‘Aced it, of course’.

6. to outwit.

1986		S. King It (1987) 518: I know when I’ve been aced.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 196: I guess you aced him there.

7. to kill.

1986		C. Stroud Close Pursuit (1988) 205: Even if he did ace one of his own people.
1989		C. Hiaasen Skin Tight 91: There’s some guys [...] think you aced old Judge Goomer without provocation.
2002		(con. 1967) J. Laurence Cat from Hué 442: Of all the words American troops used to describe death in Vietnam — aced, blown away [...] — the one I heard most was ‘wasted.’.
2002		Simon & Burns ‘The Detail’ Wire ser. 1 ep. 2 [TV script] Don‘t make sense to ace this motherfucker after he done testify.
2012		T. Piccirilli Last Kind Words 126: [W]ord was he’d ace anyone who even looked like they might rat on him.

8. (US) to dismiss from employment.

1992

G.P. Pelecanos Firing Offense 62: ‘[T]hat’s not why they aced him.’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘He was a gonif. They caught with his hand in the fuckin’ cookie jar’.