Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to beat or whip, to kick.

1764		Foote Mayor of Garrat in Works (1799) I 174: Now, if you think I could carry my point, I would so swinge and leather my lambkin.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
c.1790		‘Patrick’s Day in the Morning’ Luke Caffrey’s Gost 3: But we their hides did bravely leather.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1815		‘Brian Boru’ in Vocal Mag. 1 Feb. 37: Then at the Assizes, I’ve ta’en up abroom, / To leather a cow from th Councillor’s room.
1822		Tom and Jerry; Musical Extravaganza II iv: You not only set upon the woman, but [...] leathered us when we came to help him.
1823		Age (London) 29 May 21/2: He was of opinion that ass-whipping might be as effectually adopted [...] he had lately had occasion to leather a rascal or two.
1832		Spirit of the Times (NY) 4 Feb. 1/2: Now my lad of wax [...] leather him soundly.
1832		Satirist (London) 15 Jan. 22/1: And leather your fat idiot boy, / For getting so rapidly drunk!
1842		S. Lover Handy Andy 229: Telling how Father Phil cleared a fair, or equally ‘leathered’ both the belligerent parties in a faction-fight.
1853		R.S. Surtees Mr Sponge’s Sporting Tour 60: If [...] he don’t incline to go, all the spurrin’, and quiltin’, and leatherin’ in the world won’t make ’im.
1864		B. Hemyng Eton School Days 291: Now you leather him.
1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1887		Bulletin (Sydney) 22 Oct. 8/4: ‘Come outside till I leather you,’ and the voter danced round in a frenzy.
1890		Bulletin (Sydney) 12 July 20/3: Once the three ladies got Mr. Doolan down, and then they made arrangements whereby two of them were to hold him while the third ‘leathered’ him, but the unhappy parent got up and renewed the conflict.
1898		Kipling ‘Stalky’ Complete Stalky & Co. (1987) 21: Yeou’m free to leather ’em saame as if they was yeour own sons. On my barn floor shall ’ee leather ’em.
1900		Marvel 29 May 2: They did nothing in that school but leather the boys from morning to night.
1918		K.F. Purdon Dinny on the Doorstep 91: Then she’ll hear it and as like as not ’ull leather the life out of ye for not telling her.
1933		M. Marshall Tramp-Royal on the Toby 38: You haven’t changed your mind about leathering the malignant devil out of me, have you, sir? [...] 127: I’d leather you! I’d cow you, you dirty tramp.
1971		T. Lewis Plender [ebook] ‘Me mam’ll leather hell out of me’.
1983		W.F Marshall ‘The Runaway’ Livin’ in Drumlister 77: We got dhrunk, an’ we fell till the fightin’, [...] It wos prime how he leathered all roun’ him / An’ him jist as full as a shugh.
1993		(con. 1930s) M. Verdon Shawlies, Echo Boys, the Marsh and the Lanes 85: If you punched your wife, there’d be three or four of us come in that night and we’d really leather you.
2003		Guardian 25 Jul. 🌐 [headline] Limp England are leathered South Africa on top after epic record opening stand.
2010		IOL News (western Cape) 8 Apr. 🌐 I’ll probably end up f***ing leathering him.
2012		(con. 1980s) I. Welsh Skagboys 162: Then he leathers the boy a couple ay nasty shots across the coupon.
2022		A. Parks May God Forgive 78: ‘I leathered him. He deserved it’.

2. (Irish) to have sexual intercourse.

c.1785

‘The New Dhooraling’ in A. Carpenter Verse in Eng. in 18C Ireland (1998) 401: He squeezed up his pipes without delay. / With his bags and his drones he leathered away.

3. to criticize severely.

1886

‘’Arry’s Spring Thoughts’ Punch 17 Apr. 185: He leathered old GLADSTONE to rights.

4. in fig. use, to consume voraciously, to ‘shovel in’.

1938

B. Conlon ‘Rope Meat’ Wild West Weekly 22 Oct. 🌐 Jest leather it [i.e. a meal] intuh yuh.

5. (gay) to perform anal intercourse; thus leathering n. [leather n. (2d)].

1935		A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks n.p.: Leathering, sodomy; buggery.
1939		D. Maurer ‘Prostitutes & Criminal Argots’ in Lang. Und. (1981) 117/2: leather. [...] 2. To practice pederasty.
1941		G. Legman ‘Lang. of Homosexuality’ Appendix VII in Henry Sex Variants.

6. (Irish und.) to shoot.

2021

Breen & Conlon Hitmen 250: ‘Just leather him out of it in the chest, then he’s getting it in the crust of the head’.