Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also Iky) the ‘inevitable’ nickname for a Jew or one who has ‘Jewish’ features; also attrib.

1812		(ref. to 1805) Pancratia 229: On Tuesday, May 21 , 1805, a battle was fought between Tom Crib, (Black Diamond), and a Jew, called Ikey Pig.
1816		W.T. Moncrieff All at Coventry I ii: Yes, Sir, I’ve doctored some of the learned – drawn claret from Sam [...] closed the peepers of Ikey Pig.
1825		‘Shadrack, The Orangeman’ Universal Songster I 27: So dere goes Mr. Ikey, Mr. Lippet, Mr. Aarons.
1832		Egan Bk of Sports 188: Ikey was left to lush, snore, dance sing, [...] in short, to do what he liked.
1834		Newcastle Jrnl 27 Dec. 4/1: The song sung with the greatest effect by Ikey Pig, Esq., at the Durham Hlasgow dinner.
1840		R. Barham ‘Auto-Da-Fé’ in Ingoldsby Legends (1842) 83: Similar treatment is forcing out hollow moans / From Aby Ben Lasco, and Ikey Ben Solomons.
1843		L.H. Medina Nick of the Woods II i: Call out Ikey Jones the fifer.
1854		Delhi Sketch Bk 1 Apr. 39/1: ’Twas thus, a Gin-shop seated by, sung Ikey Abram’s daughter / A deep ’un she.
1858		‘A. Pendragon’ Queen of the South 33: Ikey Lazarus is perhaps no better, perhaps no worse, than many of us, Jew or Gentile.
c.1860		‘Brighton Grand Volunteer Rev.’ in C. Hindley Curiosities of Street Lit. (1871) 155: There’ll be Ikey Bill from Petticoat Lane.
1879		Sporting Times 1 Mar. 1/3: ‘Th’wulp me, Ikey tear, that man’s been a-tellin’ me as I’m made out o’ dutht’.
1881		Bulletin (Sydney) June 2/1: ‘Ikey the Jew boy,’ with the filched repeater hanging from his shirt.
1884		Madison Times (Tallulah, Madison Parish, LA)8 Nov. 2/4: My dear friend Ikey drank his half of the wine.
1892		Burlington Press (VT) 22 Dec. 11/6: As for Ikey, he chuckled and ate.
1899		R. Whiteing No. 5 John Street 41: It’s ole Ikey there on the fust floor.
1900		Sporting Times 24 Feb. 7/2: Her beautiful daughter [...] had only been married a week to young Mr. Ikey Emanuel.
1903		‘Hugh McHugh’ I Need The Money 22: I can get a fly lad named Ikey Schwartz to stall for us.
1907		Sun. Times (Perth) 30 June 4/7: I rose so rapidly I was sent / To a Yid who loaned at shent-per-shent / [...] / I grew so strong on Ikey’s grub / I skipped to the bar of mater’s pub.
1913		A. Lunn Harrovians 37: Hallo, old Ikey! bin robbin’ the widow and orphan, you old usurer?
1912		Sport (Adelaide) 22 June 6/2: They Say [...] That That the Bunion King's Christian name ought to have been Ikey or Levi.
1922		Joyce Ulysses 192: The sheeny! Buck Mulligan cried He jumped up and snatched the card – What’s his name? Ikey Moses? Bloom?
1925		Dos Passos Manhattan Transfer 103: Fellows teasing little Harris, calling him Iky because he was supposed to be a Jew.
1931		P. Stevenson Gospel According to St Luke’s 28: He was the guy that started the Ikey Hunts. [...] ‘Jew Hunt! Get that Jew!’.
1940		E. Curry Hysterical Hist. of Aus. 31: Now then, Ikey.
1963–74		B. Humphries Barry McKenzie [comic strip] in Complete Barry McKenzie (1988) 27: The Doc’s paying, Ikey, so bung it on, mate.
1972		J. Speight ‘Women’s Lib and Bournemouth’ Till Death Us Do Part [TV script] Hoi! Ikey!
1980		Barltrop & Wolveridge Muvver Tongue 53: A Jewish man working among gentiles is likely to be called ‘Ikey’.

2. (UK Und.) a Jewish receiver and seller of stolen goods.

[1829		Hobart-Town Cousier [sic] 28 Nov. 3/2: There goes Ikey Solomons; he used to fence my swag].
1834		‘Oh! Lady Touch That Lute’ in Black Joke 37: Tho’ we are now without a mag, / We’ll soon have lots of wedge, / At Ikey’s sell a glorious swag, / And all our slashes fledge.
1846		G.M.W. Reynolds Mysteries of London I 60/1: I was an Ikey, with swag all encumbered.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1873		Sl. Dict.

3. a derog. term for a Jew.

1835		Dickens ‘A Passage in the Life of Mr. Watkins Tottle’ in Slater Dickens’ Journalism I (1994) 433: ‘Let me alone,’ replied Ikey, ‘and I’ll ha’ vound up [...] in five seconds.’.
1886		Daily Tombsone Epitaph (AZ) 28 Mar. 2/3: I wrote to dot Ikey a letter und he reblide he dinks.
1889–90		Barrère & Leland Dict. of Sl., Jargon and Cant.
1895		Coburg Leader (Vic.) 14 Dec. 4/1: Their white shirts and collars (which by the way they obtained at Iky’s).
1897		Jewish Sth (Richmond, VA) 9 Apr. 6/1: To call an intimate friend or relative ‘Abe,’ ‘Ike’ or ‘Mose’ [...] is all right, but when it comes outin cold type that ‘Mr and Mrs Ikey’ have done this or ‘Mr and Mrs Abe’ have done that [...] there is something of contempt.
1900		E.H. Babbitt ‘College Words and Phrases’ in DN II:i 42: Ikey, n. A Jew.
1902		‘Dads Wayback’ in Sun. Times (Sydney) 29 June 12/1: ‘An’ take my tip, ther Ikeys o’ those days knew wot they wos talkin' about’.
1914		Ade ‘The New Fable of the Uplifter’ in Ade’s Fables 107: He had a trunkful of Tunes that were too scholarly for the Ikeys who publish Popular Trash.
1920		Ade Hand-made Fables 146: He had seen the Ponies come scooting into the Home Chute, and then he had hurried in to mace his Bit from Ikey.
1939		Howsley Argot: Dict. of Und. Sl.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1951		(con. 1920) S. Longstreet Pedlocks (1971) 273: As for you, Kikey Ikey, you’re lucky they let you sit down with white men.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 279: Other generics include: [...] Ike or Ikey, also a Jew.

4. (Aus.) a bookmaker.

1880		Bulletin (Sydney) 18 Sept. 9/2: The ubiquitous ‘Ikey’ screamed, ‘Who wants to back hanythink?’.
1884		Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday 31 May36: [headline] Iky on the Turf [...] ‘Send your money to Iky Mo and ask no questions’.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 24 June 1/7: A racing man was telling the story of a well-known bookmaker — let us call him Ikey [...] ‘Now how is a Christian to get the better of a man like Ikey?’ [...] ‘Keep pigs not ducks’ said a practical listener.
1905		Salt Lake Herald (UT) 26 Mar. 5/1: Hardy Downing [...] translates the Australian slang in the above as follows: ‘Ikeys’ are bookmakers; a ‘punter’ is a small better; ‘magging’ is eqivalent to the term ‘kidding’.
1914		Truth (Melbourne) 10 Jan. 5/7: He went round the Ikey-cum-Moses crowd and got a good price.

5. one who plays a duplicitous ‘sharp’ trick.

1899

C. Rook Hooligan Nights 109: I don’t think any Lambeth boy’ll play on the ikey like that wiv them gals again.

6. a pawnbroker (irrespective of racial origin).

1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 13 Jan. 24/4: [If] no one has ‘gone through’ him meanwhile for the ticket and his watch and loose cash, and if he manages to dodge the ‘ticket-snatchers’ (often employed by Ikey himself) [...] the ‘book’ [...] will probably dispute it.
1910		Bulletin (Sydney) 21 July 43/2: But yer see I don’t mean ter git copped, [...]. To-morrer mornin’ I’m goin’ to lend that lurverly watch an’ chain to Ikey Moss, an’ ’e’ll turn ’em inter golden suv’rins fur me. Wonnerful clever man, Ikey.

7. a moneylender.

1901		G.A. Spink [perf. Hetty King] ‘Captain Reginald D’Arcy’ 🎵 Iky, upon my I.O.U. / Will lend me a ‘monkey’, sometimes two.
1914		‘Bartimeus’ ‘“Noel”’ in Naval Occasions 27: A dun from Ikey – well, I’m blessed! And a Christmas card from Aunt Selina to dear Gussie.

8. (S.Afr.) a student of the University of Cape Town; thus Ikeys, the university itself; also attrib. [despite the obvious racial implication, the term is regularly used in sports reports without further comment].

1921		Cathartic (Univ. of Cape Town) Sept. 4: We believe that the recent protest on the part of the S.R.C. to the Maatie University, re the name ‘Ikey,’ which has been applied to us at Inter-Varsity, has caused considerable criticism in Varsity circles [DSAE].
1971		BBC Summary of World Broadcasts 6 Dec. [radio script] A group of five Matie (University of Stellenbosch) and four Ikey (University of Cape Town) students [etc.].
1974		R. Harwood Articles of Faith 484: Uncle Jacobus taking him to rugby to watch the Universities of Stellenbosch and Cape Town fight it out, the Maties versus the Ikeys.

9. see ikey-mo n. (3)