Green’s Dictionary of Slang

readies n.

[ready n.]

cash, rather than cheques etc.

[UK]Partridge DSUE (1984) 964/2: —1935.
[Ire]B. Behan Scarperer (1966) 37: I know you’ve a lot of form and I know what you’d get, but have you the readies outside?
[Ire](con. 1940s) B. Behan Confessions 43: Having plenty of the readies, I shouted [...] ‘A pint of stout myself.’.
[UK]F. Norman Dead Butler Caper 103: Yuh don’t ’ave to worry about a fing, so long as I’m around [...] Readies nor anything.
[UK]A. Sayle Train to Hell 48: The lighting men [...] either wanted Chinese take-aways flown out from England or enormous extra payments ‘in readies’.
[Aus]C. Bowles G’DAY 88: Nothin to it. Miteswell give it a punt. We’re both short a the readies.
[UK] in G. Tremlett Little Legs 12: I’ve done that a million times, always for readies.
[Aus]R.G. Barrett Mud Crab Boogie (2013) [ebook] Warren made out he was having a mild heart attack when he saw Les produce the readies.
[Ire]J. O’Connor Salesman 100: They do go mad for a bit of filth down here. And they’ve got the readies to get it too.
[UK]H. Mantel Beyond Black 205: He took me readies and scarpered. Left me high and dry, dead.
[UK]D.S. Mitchell Killer Tune (2008) 13: He did not know where the King got to the readies to afford a private room.
[UK]J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 12: I woulda kept my readies under the mattress.
[Aus](con. 1943) G.S. Manson Irish Fandango [ebook] Mollinson [i.e. a bookmaker] had [...] taken a bath. He had no readies.