Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US Und.) a dupe, a victim of a confidence trickster; a prospective victim; a ‘steered’ prospect.

1897		E. Townsend ‘The Reward of Merit’ in Near a Whole City Full 172: Then he was tried at other work; piloting ‘come-ons’ to the city, steering them to the turning joint.
1901		‘Hugh McHugh’ Down the Line 31: Tod’s main hold is to creep into the ‘reading room’ of a Rube hotel after the chores are done of an evening and throw salve at the come-ons.
1906		S. Ford Shorty McCabe 39: ‘And how did he guess you were a come-on?’ ‘Every American is a come-on, Shorty,’ says the Boss [ibid.] 182: You’re a regular come-on. I guess the adorable Sadie has handed you a josh.
1910		D. Runyon ‘Song of the Ironworker’ in Morn. News (Willmington, DE) 23 Nov. 4/3: The half of them are come-ons, an’ the other half’s a scream.
1927		B. Cormack Racket Act II: You used to stall – tease along the come-ons – for Beauty Parker’s mob.
1933		C. Himes ‘A Modern Marriage’ in Coll. Stories (1990) 120: He didn’t mind being a come-on for that night.
1940		D. Maurer Big Con 292: come-on 1. See mark. 2. A mark who has been put on the send and is returning to be fleeced.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 47/1: Come-on. 1. A gullible prospect for swindling.
1963		L.F. Freed Crime in S. Afr. 107: A ‘sap’, a ‘cluck’, a ‘boob’, a ‘come-on’, or a ‘chump’ is a dupe or a victim.

2. (US Und., also come-on ghee) a con-man, a swindler; also attrib.

1902		E. Townsend Chimmie Fadden and Mr Paul 95: De con man and come-on.
1910		‘O. Henry’ ‘The Poet and the Peasant’ in Strictly Business (1915) 78: One of McAdoo’s come-on squad, I guess.
1916		J. Lait ‘Taxi, Mister!’ in Beef, Iron and Wine (1917) 139: He will have the concentrated shady knowledge of all the bloods, pikers, come-ons, roisterers, gamblers, cheaters, beaux, rich men’s sons, and poor men’s daughters.
1920		A. Baer Speeches of Fuller Durham 25 July [synd. col.] They are the finest organized gang of come-ons in the country.
1929		C.G. Givens ‘Chatter of Guns’ in Sat. Eve. Post 13 April; list extracted in AS VI:2 1930 132: come-on, n. Confidence man.
1931		‘William Hatfield’ Sheepmates 172: He’s a dirty ‘come-on’ for that speelerin’ Fritz.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 47/1: Come-on ghee. A swindler.
1975		‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell and the Three-card Trick (1977) 61: Big Blondie and the other two come-ons started nudging and geeing up Gannex.

3. (US) a snare, an inducement, a lure; also attrib.

1902		Ade Forty Modern Fables 67: He is a Come-On for any Bunco Game in the List.
1924		G. Henderson Keys to Crookdom 401: Come-on game – trick devised to rob victim of his money.
c.1930		(ref. to 1898) N. Kimball Amer. Madam (1981) 270: She could chatter the artistic comeon to a john.
1938		W. Winchell On Broadway 15 Mar. [synd. col.] Fannie Brice and Judy Garland should be enough of a come-on for ‘Everybody Sing’.
1949		‘I’ll Gyp You Every Time’ in C. Hamilton Men of the Und. 180: He wants to give out a prize as a come-on to the crowd.
1955		B. Schulberg On the Waterfront (1964) 211: A come-on absolutely irresistible to an Irishman fond of his whisky.
1966		J. Holledge Great Aust. Gamble 154: These people [...] having at some time or other answered a tipster’s advertisement or original luring ‘come-on letter’.
1968		T. Thackrey Gambling Secrets of Nick The Greek 236: The come-on [...] is that the wager seems to occur to the guy right on the spot.
1974		(con. 1940s) E. Thompson Tattoo (1977) 127: You know that’s just a come-on to get you to buy the effing candy.
1999		G. Seal Lingo 50: the come on is the method used to entice a potential bunny.
2000		J. Hawes Dead Long Enough 32: Difficult, Brainy, Tall and Skinny, as a come-on in the virtual Personal Columns of life, appreciates over the years.

4. (US) patter or sales talk, a line; also attrib.

1902		‘Hugh McHugh’ It’s Up to You 65: I handed back to Clara J. the come-on speech she had given me earlier.
1939		R. Chandler Big Sleep 109: I guess these [notes] were just a come-on.
1946		Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues 182: If I resisted their come-on even a little, it was only because of my obsession with the music.
1953		‘William Lee’ Junkie (1966) 156: Come on . . . The way someone acts, his general manner and way of approaching others.
1964		L. Hansberry Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window in Three Negro Plays (1969) I i: With hoked-up come-ons.
1978		R. Price Ladies’ Man (1985) 182: Guys [...] opened their come-ons with questions about the chemical properties of phosphorescent paint.
1999		N. Cohn Yes We have No 137: Some of the come-ons are oddly seductive.

5. (Aus.) a challenger, a ‘hopeful’.

1935

C. Drew ‘Zarko Assassin’ in Bulletin 23 Oct. 48/4: He generally slapped the come-ons on their backs inside half a minute.

6. (also come-in) a sexual invitation, either through a look or through words.

1935		E.W. Calder ‘Black 13’ in Spicy Adventure Stories Aug. 🌐 I wasn’t quite sure whether she was giving me the come-on stuff.
1943		W.R. Burnett Nobody Lives for Ever 78: [H]e relaxed. It wasn’t a feminine lead or ‘come on.’ It was just a nice remark.
1954		R. Mais Brother Man (1966) 65: Course she never meant anything at all ... was jus’ handin’ him the ole come-on.
1959		(con. WWII) B. Cochrell Barren Beaches of Hell 170: You gave me plenty of come-on at the dance.
1965		H. Williamson Hustler 191: This girl was flirtin’, but she wasn’t sayin’ nothin’! You know she was [...] givin’ a little ‘come on’ with her eyes.
1971		L. Bangs in Psychotic Reactions (1988) 62: Many of the Troggs’ songs [...] were immediate come-ons and male self-aggrandisement.
1989		M. Amis London Fields 136: I’m not interested. Which is always a come-on.
1998		I. Welsh Filth 297: I’m getting the come-on here big-time.
2000		Guardian Rev. 15 Jan. 2: There was no aftermath to this gentle, entirely verbal little come-on.
2005		L. Theroux Call of the Weird (2006) 62: Summer did her best to be enthusiastic, issuing bawdy come-ons.
2015		L. McInerney Glorious Heresies 74: [H]er sickly back garden come-ons,.

7. the personification of sense 6, a sexually alluring woman.

1933		J. Gray ‘The Nudist Gym Death Riddle’ in Vice Squad Detective 🌐 She was the big come-on in this racket, but he wanted her to himself.
1971		Winick & Kinsie Lively Commerce 171: A B-girl (also called a ‘come-on’ or ‘percentage girl’ or ‘drink rustler’) often spends six to seven hours in a bar.
2001		‘Randy Everhard’ Tattoo of a Naked Lady 6: I can’t remember which one of them I saw first: the blonde come-on dressed like she had an exhibitionist streak a mile wide or the square in the coke bottle glasses who was eyeballing her like she was nothing but something to look at.

8. a dare.

1955

R. Graziano Somebody Up There Likes Me 237: It’s about time I got a come-on for a fight in this joint.