Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a promenade (as place or act); a street used for parading and socializing by the local youth, thus phr. on the crawl, walking around.

1882		Bristol Magpie 27 July 6/1: [T]he many elegancies, who daily ‘do’ the Queen's Road ‘crawl,’ Park Street ‘trot,’ and Clare Street ‘toddle’.
1882		Bristol Magpie 26 Oct. 7/2: I’ve nothing more to do / Than don my last two guinea suit, with seventeen flaps in all, / And with a fourpenny ha’penny case of ‘squeezers’ do a crawl.
a.1915		Billy Williams [perf.] [of shoplifting] ‘Aunty Mog’s Shawl’ 🎵 Auntie Mog’s little shawl, when she’s out on the crawl, / Legs of pork seem to walk, yes walk.
1993		(con. 1850s) I.L. Allen City in Sl. (1995) 41: The Bowery was a famous promenade or crawl for ‘Bowery B’hoys’ and their ‘G’hals.’.

2. visiting a number of public houses, bars etc in succession.

1879		‘’Arry on Crutches’ Punch 3 May 201/1: I wish we wos chums on the crawl, and I’d show yer, old flick, ’ow to carry / The swell stick.
1884		Sporting Times 4 Oct. 3/4: How are we to celebrate the death of Dr Johnson [...] in an organised gin and bitters’ crawl down Fleet Street.
1892		Albert Chevalier ‘Our Little Nipper’ 🎵 I used to do a gin crawl e’vry night, / An’ very, very often come ’ome tight.
1925		P. Hamilton Monday Morning (2018) 151: [S]ome middle-salaried male members of the company of ‘The Coil’ who were gaily but conscientiously intent upon their Sunday evening pub crawl.
1978		S. Murray Legionnaire 230: [They] had decided to celebrate the event by crawling round some of their old haunts. I had arrived at the beginning of the crawl.
1981		W. Boyd Good Man in Africa 70: He had been [...] been roped in to bar-crawls round Nkongsamba.
1994		(con. 1970s) G. Byrne Pictures in my Head 66: Now lads, the crawl is yer only man. From Guiney’s to the Half Way House.
2001		K. Waterhouse Soho 216: Bloke in wunner them boozers last night, out on that pub crawl with James.

3. a walk.

1901

Marvel XV:377 Jan. 9: She’s out for her early crawl.

4. (US Und.) a trick.

1917

F. Packard Adventures of Jimmie Dale (1918) I viii: Aw [...] youse can’t work dat crawl on—.

5. a dance.

1926		in E. Cray Erotic Muse (1992) 142: [She] went down to the nickel crawl, / She was looking for her man.
1926		Maines & Grant Wise-crack Dict. 8: Give us a crawl – May I have the pleasure of the next dance.