Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(UK Und.) to talk, irritatingly or pessimistically; thus croaking n. and adj.

1779		Mme D’Arblay Diary and Letters (1904) I 212: I believe between you, you would croak me mad!
1795		Sporting Mag. May VI 115/1: Then hold all this croaking and grumbling as fun.
1829		T. Creevey letter 6 Mar. in Gore Creevey Papers (1948) 308: Well, the Whig croaking must end now. The Beau is immortalised by his views and measures as detailed by Peel.
1837		‘Plunder Creek’ Bentley’s Misc. Feb. 127: ‘Shut your ugly beak, you croaking blackbird!’ interrupted the American.
1845		W.T. Porter Big Bear of Arkansas (1847) 43: Don’t croak so, Tom, don’t. You’ll drive me mad with your cursed din.
1850		Man of Pleasure’s Illus. Pocket-book n.p.: ‘You will croak for peck, and be smugged for a stiff ’un’.
1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 69/1: In order to hear what they were ‘croaking’ about, I edged myself close to them and overheard what they said.
1879		Cincinnati Enquirer 7 Sept. 10/7: Croak also means to speak forebodingly of some coming disastrous event, or the non-success of any thing before it has been tried and found wanted.
1886		M.E. Kennard Girl in the Brown Habit III 74: ‘Can’t you leave a fellow to manage his affairs in his own way, and give up croaking?’ [...] ‘I spoke only for your good,’ I said stiffly, ‘but in future I promise to “croak” no more.’.
1891		Abilene Wkly Reflector (KS) 9 July n.p.: Senetaor-eoect Peffer the Craoker. Old Whiskers held down a Kansas job / In a dismal kind of way; / And all he did, whatever befell, / Was to croak the livelong day.
1899–1900		C.L. Cullen Tales of the Ex-Tanks 72: ‘Go ay-way,’ I replied [...] ‘you know not whereof you croak.’.
1900		Sporting Times 10 Feb. 2/5: Wretched disgrace to all of his race to croak of our decay.
1904		‘G.B. Lancaster’ Sons O’ Men 9: Stop that croaking, then. D’you hear?
1904		Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 25 May 2/3: They croak about the depression in Sydney, and yet there is no better show town in the world.
1914		Williston Graphic (ND) 22 Jan. 2/6: A croaker sat on the grumbler’s bench and croaked that the town was dead [...] the times were dull, the stores were bum, as bum could be. And so he sat [...] and croaked and croaked.
1915		Daily Mirror 20 Sept. 12/4: Why They Croak. Pessimism is a form of mental dyspepsia usually induced by over-indulgence of the appetite for sensation.
1931		P.J. Wolfson Bodies are Dust (2019) [ebook] ‘I don’t know what you’re croaking about’.