Green’s Dictionary of Slang

loop n.2

1. a fig. circle of information; usu. in phr. in the loop/out of the loop.

[US]W. Safire What’s The Good Word? 52: The people at the power center have already adopted the White House favorites — ‘in the loop,’ for those privileged enough to be ‘copied’ by receiving copies of memoranda, and the ‘power curve.’.
[US]A. Vachss Hard Candy (1990) 99: When I had that name I was out of the loop. Safe.
[US]L. Stringer Grand Central Winter (1999) 141: I had inadvertently maneuvered myself out of the loop.
[US](con. 1964–8) J. Ellroy Cold Six Thousand 166: Mr. Hoover knows everyone. The people he knows comprise quite a loop.
[Scot]I. Rankin Falls 314: The hacks who’re not in the loop, they’re keenest of all.
[US]T. Piccirilli Fever Kill 109: Tucco’s tech whiz kids weren’t really in the loop.
[Aus]P. Temple Truth 106: ‘I heard about Lovett. Grace Lovett.’ ‘Before me,’ said Villani. ‘I heard ten minutes ago.’ ‘Out of the loop’.
[UK]K. Richards Life 80: I was well out of the loop then, i was a yokel compared to Mick, in a way.
[Aus] L. Jose ‘Underhooks’ in Crime Factory: Hard Labour [ebook] I don’t remember you from before. But I’ve been out of the loop.
[Scot]I. Welsh Decent Ride 201: Right, Terry, just keep ays in the loop. Anything ye hear.
[US]D. Winslow The Force [ebook] ‘e invited you to this briefing as a courtesy and to keep you in the loop’.
[Aus]C. Hammer Scrublands [ebook] ‘But the presence of the ASIO agent, Jack Goffing, must leave him feeling out of the loop’.
[US]A. Kirzman Giuliani 132: OEM was designed to keep all the departments in the loop in situations like this.

2. a short pornographic film.

[US]J. Ellroy Because the Night 135: ‘Sherry, I'll be frank. I produce high-budget adult films. [...]’ ‘Yeah, and this is perfect because before I did loops’.
[UK]A. Frewin London Blues 12: A porno pic. A blue movie. A stag. A smoker. A loop. Call it what you will.
[US](con. 1964–8) J. Ellroy Cold Six Thousand 227: ferrer compiles film footage, compiles it into pornographic ‘loops’ & sells said ‘loops’ out of the hunky Monkey Bar.
[US](con. 1973) C. Stella Johnny Porno 196: ‘What’s a loop?’ ‘An eight-to-ten-minute film they use in the sex joints’.

3. (US black) sex involving several males and a single female.

[US]Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 loop Definition: when more than one nigga bang a girl. Example: Man we ran a loop on the bitch last night.

4. (S.Afr. drugs) the plastic container for the heroin-derivative drug sugars n.

[SA]Mail & Guardian 21 Apr. 🌐 [Sugars] comes wrapped in bin-bag plastic, tied into small Aids-ribbon-shaped ‘loops’ from which a user can get four or five hits. A loop costs between R10 and R35. [It is] smoked by inhaling the vapour when it is burnt on tin foil.

In compounds

loop droop (n.)

(US black) the long jacket that forms part of a zoot suit n. (1)

D. Burley N.Y. Amsterdam Star-News 24 Apr. 11: That is what is called the loop droop to go along with the zoot suit with the reet pleat.

In phrases

out of the loop

(orig. US) not in on a secret, or unaware of what’s going on.

[US]Atlanta Journal/Constitution 25 June 23/ 1: No one can stop it; in computer language, people are out of the ‘loop,’ or the decision making process.
[UK]M. Dibdin Dark Spectre (1996) 9: Maybe a dollar was the price Kevin was prepared to pay to get his little squirt of a brother out of the loop for fifteen minutes.
[US]T. Dorsey Stingray Shuffle 45: This out-of-the-loop, can’t-see-the-front-of-the-line shit is making me crazy!

SE in slang uses

In phrases

go through the loops (v.)

(Aus.) to become angry or overwrought.

[Aus]Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) 20 July 3/4: The Wogs won’t eat [the fish] as they reckon the pool is scared. The Wogs go through the loops when we pinch them and curse up and own. But who cares?
on the loop

wandering around; thus take it on the loop, to leave.

A. Baer Knitting Honors 3 Jan. [synd. col.] While the Kink was trying to dope that one out Woody took it on the loop.
[US]C. Coe Me – Gangster 167: I’m on the loop from a long ways off.
put the loop on (v.) [image of a lasso]

(US) to capture.

[US]D. Hammett ‘$106,000 Blood Money’ Story Omnibus (1966) 323: I [...] came in to make sure there’ll be nothing between me and the blood money when I put the loop on this Papadoodle.
throw for a loop (v.) [var. on knock for a loop under knock v.]

to disturb one, to worry one considerably, to put one off one’s stride.

[UK]G. Lambert Inside Daisy Clover (1966) 44: Now she was thrown for a loop.
[US]R. Price Blood Brothers 199: Every once in a while something would come [...] that would throw Tommy for a loop and a half.
[US]G. Swarthout Skeletons 9: It threw me for an absolute loop.
[UK]M. Dibdin Dark Spectre (1996) 58: I frowned. Once again he’d thrown me for a loop.
[US]Week (US) 29 June 19: The idea of wrinkled people having sex just throws them for a loop.