Green’s Dictionary of Slang

bung n.1

also boung
[Frisian pung, purse]

1. (UK Und., also bong) a purse.

[UK]Harman Caveat for Common Cursetours in Viles & Furnivall (1907) 83: bunge, a pursse.
[UK]Greene Blacke Bookes Messenger 2: When he had nipt a Bung or cut a good purse, he would steale ouer in to the Low Countrie.
[UK]E.S. Discovery of Knights of Poste D: The brinext bung the Cutpurse nyppes, shall serue for his recompence.
[UK]Dekker Belman of London H1: The purse is the Bung. The money the Shelles.
[UK]Rowlands Martin Mark-all 42: My bong, my lowre, & fambling cheates / Shall be at thy command.
[UK]Beaumont & Fletcher Coxcomb II ii: Sheathe your bung, whore!
[UK]‘Song of the Beggar’ in Farmer Musa Pedestris (1896) 14: Ten miles vnto a Market. / I runne to meet a Miser, / Then in a throng, I nip his Bung, / And the partie ne’er the wiser.
[UK]Tinker of Turvey Epistle 1: Arm’d with his budget, Bung-Dagger, New-panne and hammer.
[UK]J. Taylor Crabtree Lectures 189: Cove. Mort, what lower hast thou in thy Bung?
J. Cleveland Cleivelandi Vindiciae (1677) 99: He is in the Inquisition of the Purse an Aunthentick Gypsie, that nips your bung with a canting Ordinance [F&H].
[Ire]Head Eng. Rogue 40: One of our diving Comrades pickt their pockets, or with a short sharp knife, and a horn on the thumb nipt their bungs.
[UK]‘L.B.’ New Academy of Complements 213: Then in the throng, / I nip his Bung.
[Ire]Head Canting Academy (2nd edn).
[UK]R. Holme Academy of Armory Ch. iii item 68c: Canting Terms used by Beggars, Vagabonds, Cheaters, Cripples and Bedlams. [...] Boung, a Purse.
[UK]B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Claying the Bung, Cutting the Purse, or Picking the Pocket.
[UK]J. Shirley Triumph of Wit 194: Fib the Covet quarrons in the Rum pad, for the Lour in his Bung. [Beat the Man on the High-way, for the Money in his Purse].
[UK]A. Smith Lives of Most Notorious Highway-men, etc. (1926) 205: Fib, to beat. Fib the cove’s quarrons in the rum-pad, for the lowr in his bung. Beat the man in the highway lustily, for the money in his purse.
[UK]New Canting Dict.
[UK]C. Johnson Hist. of Highwaymen &c. 105: The first Question they asked him was, If he had any Loure in his Bung.
[UK]Poor Robin n.p.: Meanwhile the cut-purse in the throng, / Hath a fair means to nyp a bung [F&H].
[UK] Ordinary of Newgate Account 18 Mar. 🌐 They examined the Contents of their Booties, which was three Bungs, with Lowers (Purses) .
[UK]Scoundrel’s Dict. 18: A Purse – Bung.
[UK]Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Boung, (cant) a purse.
[UK]Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1785].
[UK] ‘The Slap-Up Cracksman’ in Swell!!! or, Slap-Up Chaunter 43: So flick the suck — or draw the clicks, / The lil, the jam, or bung from kicks.
[US] ‘Hundred Stretches Hence’ in Matsell Vocabulum 124: The chips, the fawneys, chatty-feeders, / The bugs, the boungs, and well-filled readers.

2. a pocket.

[UK]Greene Quip for an Upstart Courtier B2: By his side, a skein [dagger] like a brewer’s boung-knife.
[UK]Rowlands Martin Mark-all 37: Bung is now vsed for a pocket, heretofore for a purse.
[UK]Ordinary of Newgate Account of the Malefactors executed at Tyburn 18th March 1740 part II 7: They took Opportunity to [...] Chive the Froes of their Bungs, (or cut off the Women’s Pockets).
[UK]Bloody Register III 171: [as cit. 1741].
[UK]B.M. Carew Gypsey of the Glen I iii: Be charitable, and put your fangs into your bungs, and throw us a croaker – All of us poor cripples.

3. a cut-purse.

[UK]Shakespeare Henry IV Pt 2 II iv: Away, you cut-purse rascal! you filthy bung, away!
[UK]R. Brathwait Age for Apes 259: I [...] in acquaintance with some Gipsies fell; Whose chiefest Bung and Captain now I am.
[UK]R. Nares Gloss. (1888) I 120: bung. A low-lived term of reproach for a sharper or pickpocket.

4. a bribe.

[UK]F. Norman Bang To Rights 149: ‘Alright so how much is the bung?’ asked Solie.
[UK]G.F. Newman Sir, You Bastard 192: His proposed bung had no bearing on Sneed seeing them [i.e. rules] enforced.
[UK]D. Powis Signs of Crime 176: Bung, a A gratuity of an almost legitimate nature, not quite a bribe.
[UK]J. Morton Lowspeak.
[UK]Observer 12 Dec. 15: The jury had already heard Fayed’s allegations of bungs in brown envelopes.
[UK]Indep. 14 Aug. 5: Railtrack manager took ‘bungs’ to fix lucrative deals for his friends, court told.
[US]Sun (London) 26 July [headline] Laurence Cop ‘Took Bung’.
[UK]Independent 24 Jan. 5/5: These payments were a bung or offshore bonus that the parties had absolutely no intention of paying taxes for.

5. a loan.

[Scot]I. Welsh Trainspotting 99: Ye’ll need tae gie us a bung though, Gav. Ah’m fuckin brassic.

In compounds

bung-nipper (n.) (also boung-nipper, bung-tipper) [nipper n.1 (1)]

(UK Und.) a cut-purse; a pickpocket.

[UK]Catterpillers of this Nation Anatomized 2: The Bung-Nibber, or Cutpurse.
[UK]Hue and Cry after Mercurius Democritus 8: The number of vicious Artists are unknown to the Mrs [i.e. Masters] and the Wardens of their own fencing Mobs [...] the life of which Company are High-way Pads, Glasiers, Shop-lifts, Fob-sylers [sic], instead of Bung-Tipers [sic] Bulkers, and some for the Mill, Budg and Snug.
[UK]‘Peter Aretine’ Strange Newes 3: Wand. Wh—. I have [...] pickt up many a Dick, and gull’d many a Cully of his Nab, tipt his bung, and sent his Callee to Egypt.
[Ire]Head Canting Academy (2nd edn) 75: The File was formerly called a Bung-Nipper or Cut-Purse, because with a short sharp Knife, and a horn Thumb, who would cut a Purse with all ease imaginable.
[UK]B.E. Dict. Canting Crew.
[UK]J. Shirley Triumph of Wit.
[UK]New Canting Dict.
[UK]Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict.
[UK]Scoundrel’s Dict. 29: The File is the same as the Diver, tho’ for the most part he goes without the Bulk, and was formerly known by the Title of the Bung-nipper, because of a horn Thumb and sharp Knife, he used to cut the Pockets clean off, with all that was in them.
[UK]Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Boung nipper, (cant) a cut purse. [Ibid.] n.p.: Bungnipper, a pickpocket.
[UK]Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1785].
[UK]Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue [as cit. 1785].
[US]‘Ned Buntline’ Mysteries and Miseries of N.Y. I 113: ‘Bung-nipper.’ A cut purse.

In phrases

put the bung in (v.)

to bribe, to hand over a bribe.

[UK]F. Norman Fings II i: ’E says the only time Collins gets busy is when someone is puttin’ the bung in.