Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to stop talking; esp. in excls. stow it! stow you! shut up! stow that! that’s not true! stow your yap! be quiet!

c.1566		Harman Caveat for Common Cursetours in Viles & Furnivall (1907) 84: Stowe you [...] holde your peace.
1592		Groundworke of Conny-catching A3: What stowe you bene cose and cut benar whydds and byng we to Rome vyle to nyp a bounge.
1608		Dekker Lanthorne and Candle-Light [as cit. 1592].
1637		Dekker Canting Prose in Eng. Villainies (8th edn) N3: [as cit. 1592].
1688		R. Holme Academy of Armory Ch. iii item 68c: Canting Terms used by Beggars, Vagabonds, Cheaters, Cripples and Bedlams. [...] Stow you, hold your peace.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Stow, you have said enough.
1703		Hell Upon Earth 5: Stoe [sic] you bien Cove.
1719		A. Smith Lives of Most Notorious Highway-men, etc. (1926) II [as cit. c.1698].
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1785		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: stow, you have said enough (cant).
c.1786		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions n.p.: Stow you; be silent, or hold your peace.
1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (3rd edn) .
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1796].
1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 272: stow, or stow-mangling an intimation from one flash-cove to another in a mixed company to be silent, or drop the subject, he was upon.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue [as cit. 1812].
1823		‘Jon Bee’ Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc. 166: Stow, stow it, and stowmarket — are synonymous for to cease.
1833		‘Take a Sight’ in Rummy Cove’s Delight in Spedding & Watt (eds) Bawdy Songbooks (2011) III 104: Come stow it my cove, / And k’vickly move off vi’ your toes.
1837		A. Greene Glance at N.Y. II ii: Oh! stow your gab, Major.
1838		Dickens Oliver Twist (1966) 154: ‘Stow the gammon,’ interposed the robber, impatiently.
1843		W.T. Moncrieff Scamps of London I i: I’ll thank you to stow all such jokes in future.
1848		Flash Dict. in Sinks of London Laid Open 126: Stow it, drop it, be quiet.
1848		Ladies’ Repository (N.Y.) Oct. VIII:37 317/1: ‘Stow your Chant’, shut your mouth; hush!
1858		A. Mayhew Paved with Gold 280: Just stow it till we’re working the town.
1863		T. Taylor Ticket-Of-Leave Man Act I: Stow that. There’s no tigers here. My name’s Downey; you mind that.
1867		H.L. Williams Ticket-of-Leave Man 20: Stow that!
a.1873		‘Bet, the Coaley’s Daughter’ in Overland Monthly (CA) Sept. 308: But when I strove my flame to tell, / Says she, ‘Come, stove [sic] that patter’.
1879		Cincinnati Enquirer 7 Sept. 10/7: Stow it and stack it, means the same as the above [i.e. cheese it!].
1879		G.R. Sims Dagonet Ballads 2: There, stow your perlaver a minit.
1880		Leicester Chron. 4 Sept. 9/5: Stow your gab, and let a fellow sleep.
1882		Sydney Sl. Dict. (2 edn) 11: Stow - To leave off, or have done. ‘Stow it, the gorger’s leary,’ leave off, the person is looking.
1882		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 5 Aug. 2/3: Let the landlubbers strow that bluster that is so silly.
1883		J. Greenwood Tag, Rag & Co. 53: Their elders, who called on them to ‘stow it’.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 14 Feb. 17/4: Considerable indignation was expressed at a little anecdote which was told in all seriousness about the ingratitude of an inmate of the lying-in hospital, who on being ‘kindly spoken to’ […] by one of the nurses, suddenly turned round and snapped, ‘Oh, stow your bloomin’ yap. You’d do the same thing if you got the chance.’.
1895–6		H. Lawson ‘Two Larrikins’ in Roderick (1972) 231: Oh! stow that!
1896		E. Pugh Man of Straw 8: Stow it, Ike, and have a drink.
1900		Marvel XIII:322 Jan. 10: Stow it, Lipie!
1900		Marvel 12 Dec. 8: Stow your gab, Letitia!
1901		Boy’s Own Paper 8 June 562: ‘Stow that rot!’ interrupted a voice from the crowd.
1907		D. Stewart Shadows of the Night in Illus. Police News 10 Aug. 12/3: ‘Stow yer patter and don’t pass no bloomin’ compliments’.
1908		H. Green Maison De Shine 179: Shut up! [...] Ain’t I told you onct to stow that?
1912		P.C. Wren Dew & Mildew 105: ‘Stow your gab’.
1915		H.L. Wilson Ruggles of Red Gap (1917) 258: He rejoined tartly that I was ‘to stow that piffle!’.
1918		Boy’s Own Paper XL 5 267: ‘Stow it!’ he said.
1922		H. Lawson ‘Gentlemen All’ in Roderick (1972) 921: Stow that language in the ward!
1922		‘Sapper’ Black Gang 272: Stow it, Jim [...] Anyone would think you wanted a nurse.
1929		(con. WWI) R. Graves Goodbye to All That (1960) 184: The other wounded men cursed him, telling him to stow it and be a man.
1938		G. Greene Brighton Rock (1943) 25: Stow it, Pinkie [...] we don’t want ice-cream.
1945		D. Bolster Roll On My Twelve 53: Ah, stow it, Nobby.
1950		(con. 1936–46) K.S. Prichard Winged Seeds (1984) 85: Stow it, Daph.
1951		R. Service ‘My Future’ in Lyrics of a Low Brow 92: Said Mother with temper: ‘Oh stow it! / You know it, a poet’s a fool’.
1955		E. Hunter Blackboard Jungle 197: Now let’s stow the talk and go on with the lesson.
1957		R. Prather Always Leave ’Em Dying 23: Stow it, mister. Get this through your head: I don’t give a damn what your opinion of me is.
1961		T.I. Rubin In the Life 146: Stow it, stow it up your poop.
1970		A. Sillitoe Start in Life (1979) 80: ‘Stow it,’ I said. ‘Forget it.’.
1979		(con. c.1970) G. Hasford Short Timers (1985) 92: ‘Me and this motherfucker are going to have one duel —’ ‘Stow it, Joker,’ Mr. Shortround interrupts.
1987		(con. 1920s) L. Redmond Emerald Square 12: ‘Stow that,’ warned one of the soldiers.
2012		T.P. McCauley ‘Lady Madeline’s Dive’ in ThugLit Sept./Oct. [ebook] ‘Stow the bullshit’.

2. to stop, to desist (other than speech).

1707		J. Shirley Triumph of Wit 196: You Maunders all, stow what you stall, / to Rumcoves that’s so quire, / And wapping Dell, that niggles well, / and takes lour for her Hire [You maunding Rogues, beware how you do Steal, for Search is made; / And let each jade look to it too, / who will not do till paid].
1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 272: stow to stow any business, employment, or mode of life, is the same as to stash it, &c.
1829		‘The New Policeman’ in C. Hindley James Catnach (1878) 211: Ye spalpeens now stow all your chaff.
1840		Flash Mirror 20: Miss Cafooselem [...] stowing all chaff and soft soap.
1853		Dickens Bleak House (1991) 224: I’m fly [...] But fen larks, you know! Stow hooking it! [...] Stow cutting away, you know!
1865		H. Kingsley Hillyars and Burtons (1870) 184: ‘Stow larks, Jimmy,’ said the constable.
1873		Sl. Dict. 312: Stow to leave off, or have done; ‘stow it, the gorger’s leary,’ leave off, the person is looking.
1895		Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 81: ‘[S]tow it, the gorger’s leary,’ leave off, the man is looking.
1896		A. Morrison Child of the Jago (1982) 120: Stow it, Bill! [...] The bloke’s a-comin’!
1900		Marvel 15 May 14: Naw, then, stow it, gaffer.
1906		E. Dyson Fact’ry ’Ands 73: Stow it; stow it, d’ye hear?
1919		Marvel 3 Mar. 10: ‘Stow it,’ howled the man.
1934		G. North ‘Gun Guile’ in Greater Gangster Stories Feb. 🌐 Dugan’s hand whipped back for his gun [...] Hartmann croaked, ‘Stow it, Dugan.’.
1937		J. Curtis You’re in the Racket, Too 79: He had been sweating on having to stow for a bit.
1977		L. Heinemann Close Quarters (1987) 96: He [...] whipped out his wallet to show his ID. ‘Stow it, pop,’ I said.

3. (UK Und.) to get rid of, to throw away; to consume.

1833		H. Smith Gale Middleton 1 149: ‘That’s all, except his togs, which are no great go — though there’s a new castor.’ ‘Stow that, Jem, if you please [...] Toggery is too apt to tell tales’.
1895		Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 81: ‘[S]tow the scran,’ eat the food.