Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US) a hooded sweatshirt, as worn by many young people, esp. those involved in rap music, as a semi-uniform.

1990		R. Doyle Snapper 130: You’re after ripping me hoodie, said the boy.
1991		PhD ‘Set It Off’ 🎵 Timberlands, army pants, black hoodie.
1997		Simon & Burns Corner (1998) 13: Gary pulls down his hoody to scratch the top of his head.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 104: hoodie A sweatshirt with built-in hood, and its wearer.
2010		Oldie Jan. 14/1: I live in Shepherd’s Bush in London, the home of the hoodie.
2012		Village Voice 24 Mar. 🌐 The hoodie has become a symbol of the racial profiling at the center of the uproar.
2012		F. McCarthy ‘Some Protection’ in Crime Factory: Hard Labour [ebook] In his hoodie, jeans and runners, his movements that of any small time dealer.
2020		(con. 1991-94) W. Boyle City of Margins 14: [W]earing a dirty hoodie.

2. (orig. US, also hood) by metonymy, the wearer, esp. when perceived as a threat; also attrib.

1998		Foreman & Neal That’s the Joint! 149: He looks the part of an authentic black male, a real roughneck, hoodie, ‘G,’ nigga, criminal, menace.
2005		New Statesman 4734-4626/1: Injuries that, if repeatedly carried out on the streets by a gang of hoodie yobs, would result in a prison sentence of up to five years.
2006		D. Cameron in Guardian 10 July 🌐 We – the people in suits – often see hoodies as aggressive. But hoodies are more defensive than offensive [...] In a dangerous environment the best thing to do is keep your head down, blend in, don’t stand out.
2011		S. Kelman Pigeon English 36: Me and Dean: ‘Sorry.’ Hoodie: ‘Sorry’.
2011		S. Kelman Pigeon English 36: We squeezed into the back of the crowd where the hoods were all [...] hiding from the TV camera .
2016		Guardian G2 19 Feb. 9/1: The other half was marked by knife crime ‘epidemics’ and moral panics over ‘hoodies’ and ‘Asbo Kids’’.