take up, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

take up v.

also tuck up

to arrest.

1725		Hist. of Jonathan Wild 21: Thomas Butler [...] had been again taken up in London, and committed to Newgate for privately stealing about 50 Guineas.
1730		Caledonian Mercury 10 Sept. 2/2: Mr Franklin, who was taken up on account of the Craftsman [...] is admitted to Bail.
1749		Pue’s Occurrences (Dublin) 26 Dec. 31/2: Thomas Cartney, Pedler, was [...] taken up and confined in the Gaol.
1754		Trial of Elizabeth Canning in Howell State Trials (1816) 350: Mary Squires, a gypsey-woman, was taken up for a robbery.
1767		Salisbury & Winchester Jrnl 30 Mar. 4/1: A servant maid was [...] taken up and committed to Bridewell, for robbing.
1777		Thrale Thraliana i Dec. 193: [I]n November 1769 a female Servant in Our house was suspected of murdering her Bastard; the same Day Baretti was taken up for killing a Man in the Streets.
1793		Sheffield Register 29 Nov. 1/2: All the [...] suspected persons have been taken up [...] and kept in confinement.
1819		Westmorland Gaz. 6 Feb. 8/2: It was about the beginning of April when I was taken up [...] I had nearly seven weeks to lie in jail.
1822		C. Dibdin Yngr Larks of Logic, Tom and Jerry III i: A Watchman gets into some strange scrapes, on my life, – / T’other night I took up the night-constables’s wife: / There was one of us muzzy, which needn’t be sung.
1830		W.H. Williams Wreck II ii: amos.: Why don’t ’ee take ’em up? gog.: There’s too many of them. But I’ll read the Riot Act.
1837		A. Greene Glance at N.Y. II i: I wouldn’t like to have slept in de station-house; I’ve always managed to escape that business, and I ain’t goin’ to begin to be tuck up now.
1848		Sinks of London Laid Open 44: ‘Take him up directly, you scoundrel,’ shouted the gentleman.
1852		S.F.Picayune 14 Apr. 2 4: Peter Smith was taken up for being a bit ‘bricky’ [DA].
1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor IV 322/1: Sally was taken up and committed to trial.
1894		A. Morrison Tales of Mean Streets (1983) 55: When two o’ the blokes was took up, they said I’d get strike-pay again if I didn’t identify them.
1899		C. Rook Hooligan Nights 86: Jawge [...] ’ad to be chucked out. An’ then ’e got took up.
1936		(con. 1830s–60s) ‘Miles Franklin’ All That Swagger 155: Took up for abducting his own missus! You are a hard case!
1943		‘Henry Green’ Caught (2001) 73: ‘When the rich get taken up they bring the doctor to say they’re sick.’ ‘Maybe she was driven to take what she took.’.
1954		R. Mais Brother Man (1966) 8: Cordy’s man get tek-up fo’ ganga.