Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a state of mild intoxication; often as have an edge on, get an edge on [one is at the edge of inebriation].

1895		J. London ‘And ’Frisco Kid Came Back’ in High School Aegis X (4 Nov.) 2–4: I tole ’m how me ole man uster ’ump me ole woman w’en he got an edge on.
1908		H. Green Maison De Shine 206: If I was a frail, an’ my old man come rollin’ in with an edge on, I’ be there strong, tellin’ him what a grand guy he was.
1913–14		Van Loan ‘The Revenge of Kid Morales’ in Taking the Count 272: When he ‘had an edge on’ [he] was inclined to be vindictive and quarrelsome.
1920		F.S. Fitzgerald ‘The Jelly Bean’ in Bodley Head Scott Fitzgerald V (1963) 205: I’ve got something that’ll put an edge on the evening.
1930		E. Glyn Flirt and Flapper 114: Flapper: To neck — or to pet —to get an edge on from his flask.
1934		H. Miller Tropic of Cancer (1963) 14: Seems to me she had a slight edge on already.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 65/1: Edge. Exhilaration just short of drunkenness or narcotic stupor.
1958		E. Gilbert Vice Trap 22: I had to drink nine cans to make it [...] But I finally had myself an edge.
1961		L. Block Diet of Treacle (2008) 121: All these people smoking [...] and with the wine you’ve been drinking, you just might get an edge on.
1971		R.D. Pharr S.R.O. (1998) 451: I sipped the house drink slowly, trying to build an edge.

2. an advantage, esp. a small one.

1896		Daily News 18 Mar. 7/5: I am gone, especially from your own people, who always had an edge on me [DA].
1905		Canyon City News (TX) 21 July 5/4: [advt] High Clasds Herefords [...] Northern breeders have no edge over me [...] Come and see the cattle .
1911		Day Book (Chicago) 23 Nov. 15/1: Policemen and Pullman porters wear blue suits. And they have the edge on you, for they have brass buttons.
1915		S. Ford Shorty McCabe on the Job 5: And the notice I got didn’t mention you at all; so you have that much edge on me.
1929		Publishers’ Weekly 14 Sept. 1060: Here we have the edge on our rivals, not only because of our superior location, but also because we are reputedly reckless about reducing prices [DA].
1932		Latimer County News-Democrat 19 Feb. 1/6: Ray Tucker of the Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance gives Murray the edge over Roosevelt in the North Dakota primary [DA].
1947		N.Y. Times 12 Oct. v. 6/4: Penn now has won five straight and holds an edge of ten trumps to six, with two ties [DA].
1953		T. Runyon In For Life 201: If I couldn’t get away with that much edge, I couldn’t get away at all.
1968		K. Brasselle Cannibals 84: That was always my edge, knowing the hole card. [Ibid.] 262: We got the big edge, Terry: a fine script, great leading man, good solid actor for second banana.
1978		R. Caron Go-Boy! 160: My biggest edge was that I had a loving family.
1989		M. Amis London Fields 206: Standing in the rain isn’t a whole lot better than being talked to about it by Incarnacion, but it’s got the edge.
1997		Simon & Burns Corner (1998) 51: It’s her stock-in-trade, an acquired gift that allows her an edge.
2000		P. Earley Super Casino 1: Every game is designed to give the house a mathematical advantage, called the ‘edge’.
2001		G. Pelecanos Right As Rain 262: It [i.e. methamphetamine] gives me an edge when I’m dealin’ with those rugheads.

3. (also edges, edgies) drug-created stress; or symptoms of withdrawal from a drug.

1966		J. Mills Panic in Needle Park (1971) 82: I could do something like that and threaten to take the whole thing, knowing that neither one of us are going to get straight, not even on a whole one, maybe just get the edges taken off, enough to feel good enough to go out.
1997		L. Pettiway Workin’ It 186: A G shot, that’s less than a tenth. Just to get them, you know, just to get the edgies off.
2000		N. Griffiths Grits 383: Carn av whizz without a drink [...] Need somethin t’take-a edge off.

4. tension, usu. creative.

1947		B. Schulberg Harder They Fall (1971) 263: He’s in the best shape he’s been so far [...] It’s the first time he’s had an edge.
1953		J. Thompson Alcoholics (1993) 97: About money . . . I jus’ soon you allus owe me some. It kinda gives me my edge.
1965		H. Rhodes Chosen Few (1966) 43: Just a down-home boy tryin’ t’give hisself a lil edge in life, that’s all.
1970		E. Tidyman Shaft 159: Cab drivers and bartenders had the edge.
1985		T. Wolff ‘The Sister’ in Back in the World 84: She considered taking a couple of hits off the joint on her pocket but decided against it. She didn’t want to lose her edge.
1991		D. Gaines Teenage Wasteland 208: It gives them an edge, attitude, and courage.
1999		Indep. Information 3–9 July 7: He was a sparkling interviewee, with enough edge to make the whole thing hugely watchable.
2007		B. Coleman Check the Technique 443: Phife was so amazing, so crazy [...] He was the fire-starter and he always brought that edge.
2020		B. Dempski et al. Dalko 103: [In Mexico] they could maintain their competitive edge, work on their game, and earn good money in the off-season.

5. a crowd.

1961		T. Taylor Baron’s Court All Change (2011) 94: ‘I saw the edge around your pitch this afternoon. You were ’avin’ a burster’.
1964		H. Williams Speakers (1966) 171: And the edge, do you know what that is? That’s the crowd.