Green’s Dictionary of Slang

bereft of money, either through gambling or through some form of confidence trick or hoax.

1807		T. Morton School of Reform (1808) 31: Tyke. I was— Lord A. Ruined. Tyke. Yes; as jockey lords said — completely cleaned out.
1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 232: cleaned out: said of a gambler who has lost his last stake at play; also, of a flat who has been stript of all his money by a coalition of sharps.
1821		Egan Life in London (1869) 185: These are the sort of flats [...] who will play and stand the grin, till they are completely cleaned out, and have not a mag left to help themselves with.
1826		C.M. Westmacott Eng. Spy II 243: In the Fancy each novice is quickly clean’d out.
1838		R.S. Surtees Jorrocks Jaunts (1874) 200: I’m nearly cleaned out, and shall be in Short’s Gardens before I know where I am.
1841		Dickens Old Curiosity Shop (1999) 225: He never took a dice-box in his hand, or held a card, but he was plucked, pigeoned, and cleaned out completely.
1851		Bell’s Life in Sydney 18 Oct. 3/4: He fell into a state of somnolence, and [...] woke in the morning cleaned out.
1853		G.J. Whyte-Melville Digby Grand (1890) 305: I was not yet what he called ‘completely cleaned out.’.
1853		Delhi Sketch Bk 1 Oct. 61/2: Our clients now I fear are all cleaned out!
1857		S.F. Call 26 Mar. n.p.: [He] Went to fight the furious tiger, / Went to fight the beast at faro, / And was cleaned out so completely / That he lost his every mopus.
1863		T. Taylor Ticket-Of-Leave Man Act I: dalton: Bob, are you in cash? brierly: Welly cleaned out.
1870		B. Harte Luck of Roaring Camp (1873) 95: ‘I’m cleaned out again. Jack,’ he continued, in a whining tone, that formed a pitiable contrast to his bulky figure, ‘can’t you help me with a hundred till to-morrow’s clean-up?’.
1878		‘’Arry on the Turf’ in Punch 29 Nov. 297/1: And now, out of collar, and cleaned, with a fortnight’s stiff ex’s to pay.
1888–94		‘Walter’ My Secret Life (1966) V 1047: One asked me to pay her cab fare home, and a well dressed woman she was — cleaned out, without a farthing.
1890		Bulletin (Sydney) 12 July 12/1: A cleaned-out citizen, whose address will probably be a boiler on the wharf, is now considering the matrimonial question from a new standpoint.
1897		Ade Pink Marsh (1963) 219: She got no use faw man ’at’s cleaned all ’e time.
1900		J. Conrad Lord Jim 104: ‘You see, the old chap has all the money,’ whispered Chester, confidentially. ‘I’ve been cleaned out trying to engineer the dratted thing.’.
1907		B. Fisher A. Mutt in Blackbeard Compilation (1977) 10: A Mutt Is Cleaned So Often That He Don’t Need the Bathtub.
1914		R. Lardner You Know Me Al (1984) 110: Well Al I was scared to tell Florrie I was cleaned out.
1924		C.J. Dennis ‘The Knight’s Return’ in Chisholm (1951) 86: ‘I ain’t dead broke,’ ‘e sez. ‘That night, yeh know, / I was cleaned out uv dough, / An’ – well-so-so.’.
1924		O.O. McIntyre New York Day by Day 21 July [synd. col.] Three months later he went to a friend and said, ‘I’m cleaned.’.
1932		(con. 1919) Dos Passos Nineteen Nineteen in USA (1966) 651: I played poker the other night and got cleaned out.
1937		R. Westerby Wide Boys Never Work (1938) 195: I haven’t got any two quid. I’m cleaned ... cleaned ... CLEANED! See?
1938		G. Greene Brighton Rock (1943) 163: It oughta be on me [...] But I’m cleaned out.
1940		O. Strange Sudden Takes the Trail 155: I’ve spent a lot o’ coin here, an’ now, when I’m cleaned, you won’t stake me a drink.
1941		K. Tennant Battlers 277: We’d been cleaned out, you see. Nothing.
1951		M. Spillane Long Wait (1954) 164: There was a matter of eighty-four dollars in an account that by rights should have been cleaned out.
1953		K. Tennant Joyful Condemned 147: ‘Got nay money?’ Rene demanded. They were all cleaned out, they declared.
1955		(con. 1944) H. Robbins A Stone for Danny Fisher 295: You lost nothing on the deal. It was me that got cleaned.
1967		J. Wynnum I’m a Jack, All Right 9: I got ckeaned out in a posh Fan Tan school in Kowloon.
1968		‘Sl. of Watts’ in Current Sl. III:2 16: Cleaned, adj. Without anything, I have no money and I can’t make any.
1973		G.V. Higgins Digger’s Game (1981) 81: You been playing against the house. Everybody gets cleaned out, doing that.
1977		D. Powis Signs of Crime 178: Cleaned out To have lost all one’s money (usually by betting or gaming).
2000		Indep. Rev. 1 Feb. 4: I’m cleaned out today.