corner n.1
1. (orig. US Und.) a share, usu. in the spoils of a robbery; a commission on a deal.
Bulletin (Sydney) 11 Apr. 18/4: They are not liable to ‘corners’ and ‘rings,’ and the holders don’t care a snuff for all the ‘Boss Tweeds’ and ‘Jay Goulds’ in creation. | ||
Sporting Times 10 Jan. 3/2: Old Bob [...] must ’ave his corner out of it [i.e. a profitable swindle]. | ||
A Pink ’Un and a Pelican 118: They would not employ ordinary commission-agents, who would have ‘wanted their corner’ and spoilt the whole thing. | ||
Sporting Times 4 Feb. 1/3: The cost was £100,000, and, needless to say, the contract was given to a general. His ‘corner,’ it transpires, was £20,000. | ||
25 Years in Six Prisons 69: They are usually quite ready to assist [...] and ‘take their corner’ – that is, get their share – later on. | ||
(con. 1910s) Hell’s Kitchen 84: Millie frequently took her ‘corner’ (share) in the gamble. | ||
Sun. Mail (Brisbane) 13 Nov. 20/8: The respectable citizen might hear somebody arguing belligerently with a companion for his ‘corner,’ i.e., his share of the proceeds, and complaining bitterly that the other was trying to ‘put him on the blue,’ in other words, give him nothing. | ||
Night and the City 9: He lived almost entirely on percentages, commissions, corners, rake-offs. | ||
Phenomena in Crime 79: At a later date she will receive her ‘corner’. | ||
Sun. Herald (Sydney) 8 June 9/4: ‘Corner’ or ‘sling’ means a share in a haul; and ‘not a droob’ means nothing at all. | in||
(con. 1944) Rats in New Guinea 50: We pinned the Eyeties’ ears back an’ the Jerries’ [...] We’ll soon give them blasted Nips somethin’ for their corner, too. | ||
Lowspeak. |
2. (US black) the last mouthful of a bottle of liquor.
Rappin’ and Stylin’ Out (1972) 381: Having the jug in hand and clearly in the sight of Willie, I expected the first four words out of his mouth to be ‘Save me the corner’. | ‘Aspiration’ in Kochman||
Mr Jive-Ass Nigger 27: Gimme a drink, Reb said. Give you shit, nigger, George said, and took a swig big enough to finish it, but there was still a corner left, so he hand it over to Reb. | ||
Ghetto Sketches 231: [of a bottle of liquor] ‘You want this corner, chu-man?’ [...] ‘Naw . . . go ’head, y’all kill it.’. | ||
Central Sl. 16: corner A small portion of the remaining alcoholic beverage [...] which fills the ‘corner’ of the bottle when tipped. ‘Here’s the bottle nigger, just take a corner.’. |