Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus./US) a disturbance, an argument.

1919		H.L. Wilson Ma Pettengill 130: Then Ben came down and had a wholehearted session with me. He said I ought to have a talk with Ed and reason him out of his folly. I said Ed would listen to a number of things, but not to reason.
1930		L.W. Lower Here’s Luck 5: We had a bit of a session – a ‘go in’ as they call it. I tried to reason with him .

2. a conversation.

1930

W.R. Burnett Iron Man 280: Sit down, champ. Let’s have a session. We ain’t had a good jaw together since you left Chicago.

3. (US teen) a dance, a party.

1957		Beckley Post-Herald (WV) 1 Dec. 7/4: Session — Same as jump or dance.
1960, 1975		Wentworth & Flexner DAS.

4. (orig. Aus.) a period of time devoted to drinking.

1949		L. Glassop Lucky Palmer 215: I’ll join you in a beer later, but I don’t want to get into a session.
1968		D. O’Grady A Bottle of Sandwiches 98: We arrived just in time for the evening ‘session’ at the pub.
1975		‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell and the Three-card Trick (1977) 127: I had three small lagers with [...] the the-card team and then I pushed off. They looked set for a long session.
1986		C. Bowles G’DAY 49: The average Australian likes nothing better than to ‘grog on’ with his mates. This usually happens after work [and] is known reverently as the Session.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 98/1: session period of drinking in a group.
1993		Aus. Word Map 🌐 session. the hours on Sunday during which a particular hotel may open. [...] ‘People in Perth further abbreviate it to “The Sunday Sess”’.
1994		I. Welsh ‘A Blockage in the System’ in Acid House 79: As a group wi need an all-day bevvy session in the Blue Blazer.
2001		J. King White Trash 194: There was always a session going on in the Green Man.
2015		I. Welsh Decent Ride 15: Once Alec goat the results n kent thair wis nae wey back, eh took oaf oan a massive session, drinkin his wey through half the local Lidl’s stock.

5. (drugs) a period of time devoted to drug taking.

1941		‘Digg Mee’ ‘Observation Post’ in N.Y. Age 26 Apr. 9/7: Peppermint candy is solid handy, when coming to the end of your ‘reefer session’.
1952		Hal Ellson Golden Spike 186: He has a real habit, too [...] And he likes these sessions.
1961		T. Taylor Baron’s Court All Change (2011) 59: [O]ne big ligging, smoking and fucking session.
a.1962		‘Konky Mohair’ in D. Wepman et al. Life (1976) 105: His riches were steady increasing, / His name was more famous than Ike’s. / He would oftentimes give those boss sessions – / You know, the kind we all like.
1971		E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).
1999		Lot’s Wife (Melbourne) 7 n.p.: Dread the day I see one [i.e. a Hungry Jacks commercial] after a heavy bong session. I’d chow my way through 6 grilled chicken burgers, before they could ask me if I wanted fries with that.
2001		D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 162/2: session n. a meeting of a group of people, devoted to the activity of taking drugs.
2007		D. McDonald Luck in the Greater West (2008) 87: Went and had another session with the pot they’d found in the chick’s jeans.

6. a period of time devoted to sex.

a.1954		‘Ball of the Freaks’ in D. Wepman et al. Life (1976) 109: Old Fast-Fucking Annie told Cripple-Tongue Annie, / ‘Mama, let’s give a session tonight.’.
1966		Trimble 5000 Adult Sex Words and Phrases.
1971		E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).
1989		M. Amis London Fields 167: Many times, fresh from a session, and out of sheer habit, he would find himself boasting to the boyfriend or the husband of the woman he was cheating with.
1996		A. Close Official and Doubtful 362: We’ll be sneaking off for a session behind the pipe sheds once the speeches start.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 76: I’ll have to get her down here for a session real soon.