toe, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

toe v.

1. to dance.

1840		‘Jack’s the Lad’ Collection of Eng. Ballads 106: D’ye hear the merry fiddle going? / Blood it sets me off a toe-ing —.
1876		Sheffield Indep. 23 Dec. 15/2: Dick once again cried out, ‘Toe it, I says, boys; toe it, and be d—to you!’ and at the same moment [...] falling down.
1894		Albert Chevalier ‘Our Court Ball’ 🎵 The toon doesn’t matter, my Flo’s allus game. At toein’ or ’eelin’, or Catherine wheelin’.
1935		Central Queensland Herald (Rockhampton, Qld) 1 Aug. 8/2: We toed it [...] We danced there.

2. (Aus./US) to kick.

1847		Bell’s Life in Sydney 30 Oct. 2/3: [He] threatened to ‘toe’ the said Mathew’s dearly-beloved spouse.
1891		Bird o’ Freedom (Sydney) 14 Mar. 5/2: And they smiled as they ‘toed’ them, and bid them go forth.
1940		M. Marples Public School Slang 105: KICK: [...] toe (Colston’s, 1887), turf (Harrow, 1906+).
1955		‘Hal Ellson’ ‘Decoy’ Tell Them Nothing (1956) 37: If the guy is soft, he’ll try to talk his way out. If he’s brave, you got to toe him. [Ibid.] 38: When he falls we toe him good to soften him up.
1991		R.G. Barrett Between the Devlin 44: Norton toed his way through the shoes, shirts, jeans and other torn clothing that littered the floor.
2023		A. Parks To Die in June 121: ‘I’ll tell you what will do him good: me not toeing his arse’.

In phrases

toe up (v.)

(N.Z. prison) vi. to get ready for and/or to have a fight; vtr. to kill someone.

2001

D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 190/2: toe up v. 1 to prepare for a fight, to have a fight 3 (toes (someone) up) to kill someone [...] toes up (also toes’d up) adj. 2 assaulted, beaten up. 3 knocked unconscious. 4 dead.

toe(s) up (v.)

(N.Z. prison) to go to sleep.

2001

D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 190/2: toe up v. 2 (toes up) to go to sleep [...] toes up (also toes’d up) adj. 1 asleep .