Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. arriving or occurring too soon, hasty, premature.

1877		Inteligencer Jrnl (Lancaster, PA) 26 Oct. 3/5: [headline] A Trifle ‘Previous’.
1880		Merrick Co. Item (Central City, NE) 25 Feb. 3/5: He was a trifle too previous, and left the town badly sold.
1885		Daily Tel. 14 Dec. n.p.: He is a little before his time, a trifle previous, as the Americans say, but so are all geniuses [F&H].
1891		M.D. Landon Eli Perkins: Thirty Years of Wit 226: Dr. Munson [...] was always ‘too previous.’ He would glance at a patient and pompously sum up his case in an instant, often making mistakes.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 26 Aug. 4/6: The Japanese Legation in London were a bit too previous in their, cabled Gratification at British ‘neutrality’.
1899		Kipling ‘The Flag of Their Country’ in Complete Stalky & Co. (1987) 202: Not quite so previous, please. I’m taking this drill.
1907		Western Champion (Barcakldine, Qld) 16 Mar. 12/2: It looks as though all the how-d’ye-do and hullaballoo about the Premier’s immigration scheme was far too previous.
1908		A.N. Lyons Arthur’s 313: Ain’t you a bit previous with yer ‘missus’? Time enough for that if ever I marries you.
1912		J. London Smoke Bellew Pt 7 🌐 When we figured we were cured, we pulled out for San Francisco. But we were too previous. By the second month we both had slight hemorrhages.
1914		E. Pugh Cockney At Home 219: Now, don’t you be too previous, sir [...] I ain’t done yet.
1915		Drew & Evans Grafter (1922) 59: [T]hey were a little bit previous, and doomed to disappointment.
1924		Galsworthy White Monkey 26: ‘You needn’t kiss me in Piccadilly Cicus, Michael!’ ‘Sorry ducky! Its a little previous – I meant to get you opposite the Partheneum.’.
1937		Z.N. Hurston Their Eyes Were Watching God (1998) 35: Youse uh mite too previous for dat [...] Us ain’t got none yit.
1943		‘Henry Green’ Caught (2001) 37: ‘It’s a bit soon, isn’ t it?’ ‘Well, maybe it is a trifle previous.’.
1980		A. Payne ‘All Mod Cons’ Minder [TV script] 39: It’s a bit previous, isn’t it?

2. forward, cheeky, unacceptable or in poor taste; often as that’s a bit previous.

1890		Boston (MA) Journal 21 June 2/3: The grumbling in this matter has been too previous [OED].
1902		Westminster Gaz. 16 July 9/1: The Stock Exchange has been, in the slang of the Street, a little ‘too previous’ [OED].
1924		C.J. Dennis ‘Rose’ in Rose of Spadgers 87: But you’re a bit too previous givin’ me / This third degree.
1935		(con. 1920s) J.T. Farrell Judgement Day in Studs Lonigan (1936) 634: Ain’t you acting a bit previous, as if I was going to come crawling around?
1947		J. Maclaren-Ross Of Love And Hunger 122: Seemed a bit previous, this sort of thing, on my first day out.
1963		B. Naughton Alfie I ii: Hot-water bottle! She’s getting a bit previous.
1996		R. Brown ‘Hard News’ 25 Apr. on N.Z. News Net 🌐 But let’s not get previous. There’s a lot between here and the general election.