Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to hit on the head (and knock out); also fig.

1607		Tourneur Revenger’s Tragedy (1967) III vi: Villain I’ll brain thee with it.
1611		Rowlands ‘A Gull’ Knave of Clubs 24: I’le raise the ghost of Hercules / Shall braine thee with his club.
1621		Hall ‘Distrustful’ Characters of Vertues and Vices 782: If but a Tile falne from an high roofe, haue brained a Passenger [...] hee sweares hee will keepe home.
1630		T. Randolph Muses’ Looking Glass IV v: I will not stay, but fly [...] the roof will fall and brain me, If I endure to heare his blasphemies.
1664		W. Killigrew Pandora Act II: Out Traytor, I’le make thy Lord braine thee for that wish.
1681		Dialogue Between Sam, Ferry-man etc. Upon a Parliament at Oxford in Harleian Misc. II (1809) 112: The saucy rogues the other day at Queen-hithe, were ready to brain us.
1706		R. Estcourt Fair Example II ii: Hussy, you lie; get you out of my Sight, or I’ll brain ye, you rebellious Crocodile.
1793		W. Macready Irishman in London I ii: Have done, Sir, or I’ll brain you.
1818		W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian (1883) 328: ‘Ye ungratefu’ cutty,’ answered Madge; ‘and me to be brained by my mother when I gang home, and a’ for your sake!’.
1825		T. Hood ‘Ode to Mr Graham’ Works (1862) I 151: For God’s sake do not cant / The cork away – unless you want / To brain your friends below.
1830		W.T. Moncrieff Heart of London III i: Are there no weapons to brain the scoundrel?
1840		Thackeray Shabby Genteel Story (1853) 134: Come, sir, don’t sit scowling at me, or I’ll brain you with the decanter.
1851		G. Thompson Jack Harold 57: D’ye suppose they’d pardon me, arter choking a woman to death [...] and braining her two children with the fire shovel?
1866		Wild Boys of London I 13/2: If it were not that you can remedy the mischief you have done, I would brain you as you sit.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 20 June 7/1: Had he been among the quick when the Salvation forces took the field in Australia, he would have by now – if, in the meantime, he hadn’t been brained with a tomahawk – contested the position of General Booth, or have knocked the stuffing out of every converted Irishman in the Harmy.
1891		G.R. Sims ‘Jackson’ Dagonet Ditties 110: A convict, he played with his warder at spoof, / Then brained him, and made his escape through the roof.
1902		Bulletin (Sydney) 23 Aug. 31/2: [S]ometimes he would start running and nearly brain himself against a tree before he woke up.
1911		G. Bronson-Howard Enemy to Society 259: Keep your hand on your stick; if the old guy draws a gun or a knife or tries to do anything screwy, brain him!
1918		‘Sapper’ Human Touch 16: He’d brained a Boche with a shovel.
1923		Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves 93: A flower-pot fell off a window-ledge and nearly brained the hero.
1930		K. Brush Young Man of Manhattan 248: When I tell him I told you he’d gone to California, [...] he’ll brain me!
1934		H. Roth Call It Sleep (1977) 25: You ol’ man near brained me wid a hammer.
c.1940–5		M. na gCopaleen Best of Myles (1968) 53: Two of the coolest customers I ever seen, didn’t give a damn about us although we went near enough to brain them with the oars.
1950		S. Murphy Stone Mad (1966) 18: Get to hell out of here before I brain ye, ye maggotty-lookin’ article!
1959		A. Zugsmith Beat Generation 136: Brain him [...] With a chair. With that vase.
1969		H. Ellison ‘Boy and his Dog’ in Beast that Shouted Love (1976) 201: I was gonna find that bitch and brain her.
1973		G.V. Higgins Digger’s Game (1981) 129: I’ll find that fuckin’ kid and brain him.
1977		(con. late 1960s) Nicholson & Smith Spend, Spend, Spend (1978) 211: I didn’t want you to ever marry him [...] because he could have always brained you any time.
1981		J. Sullivan ‘Slow Bus to Chingford’ Only Fools and Horses [TV script] I’ll brain you if I catch up with you.
1993		S. King Dolores Claiborne 215: Brain him, you ninny.
1999		Indep. Rev. 23 July 15: Girl falsely lures boy into clinch; girl screams for help; Dad appears, brains boy.
2008		Times (London) 16 May 7/2: Tracey braining her lover with a brass Madonna-and-child statuette.

2. to ponder, to think about.

2000

(con. 1940s–60s) Décharné Straight from the Fridge Dad.