Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (UK Und., also hike, hike out) to leave, to go home.

1728		J. Dalton Narrative of Street-Robberies 8: Rawlins and he hyk’d off with the Cly.
1729		Life of Thomas Neaves 28: He did not suspect him till after he hik’d away, that is, got clear with a Piece of Silk of considerable value.
1747		Life and Character of Moll King 11: To pay, Moll, for I must hike.
1754		G. Stevens ‘A Cant Song’ Muses Delight 177: Away she went laughing, I hik’d after Moll [...] And away we went to the ken boozie.
c.1786		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions n.p.: Hike. To hike off; to run away. Cant.
1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (2nd, 3rd edn).
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum 42: ‘Hike; the cops have tumbled to us,’ run; the officers have seen us.
1871–82		in B.M. Carew Life and Adventures.
1902		Ade Breaking Into Society (1904) 152: He will wait until you begin to act real Friendly and then he will give you the Toss and hike off.
1906		E. Hubbard Love, Life and Work 🌐 Now get out of here – hurry, vamose, hike – and be damned to you!
1907		C.E. Mulford Bar-20 v: Oh, yu needn’t be hikin’ for Albuquerque.
1910		‘O. Henry’ ‘The Girl and the Habit’ in Strictly Business (1915) 234: Hike along there, buddy.
1914		S. Lewis Our Mr Wrenn (1936) 156: Hiking off to Europe, leaving a good job!
1925		W. Pett Ridge Early Closing 23: Will she leave me here to waste away, and die, and hike off (tears), hike off to bury myself, all alone, in Highgate cemetery?
1932		M. Marshall Travels of Tramp-Royal 142: Then come on, you bull-men! Hike out, you flat-feets!
1934		J. Franklyn This Gutter Life 285: One o’ the ugliest bogeys from the Yard has got his gig-lamps on me! If I don’t hike – I’m hooked.
1942		C.R. Bond 13 Apr. in A Flying Tiger’s Diary (1984) 134: We hiked off and bought quite a few things.
1961		‘Frank Richards’ Billy Bunter at Butlins 83: ‘I say, you fellows, don’t hike off while a fellow’s talking to you!’ howled Bunter. But the Famous Five did hike off.

2. (UK Und.) to arrest.

1834		‘Poor Little Caleb The Small’ in Bang-Up Songster 41: He hiked off Caleb in a trice, before a Magistrate.
1876		C. Hindley Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack 264: I’ll hike you off to the Beak.

3. (US) to trick or cheat.

1952

Lannoy & Masterson ‘Teen-age Hophead Jargon’ AS XXVII:1 26: HIKE, v. To make a quick illegal transaction.