Green’s Dictionary of Slang

shiv v.

1. (US Und.) to stab.

1931		D. Runyon ‘Dream Street Rose’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 57: He dies from being shivved by Johnny Mizzoo.
1934		L. Berg Prison Nurse (1964) 57: This monkey [...] got ‘shivved’ by Joe Russo of Tony Lucci’s mob.
1947		J. Maclaren-Ross ‘The Dark Diceman’ in Bitten by the Tarantula (2005) 203: A screw gets shivved but who cares.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn) 206: shive [...] shive up To stab.
1953		B. Behan Scarperer (1966) 76: He put it on her. Shivved her. Razor.
1953		T. Runyon In For Life 91: Hardly a week passed without someone getting shivved up. [Ibid.] 249: In the course of an argument, Joe shivved up on Cliff.
1958		(con. 1940s) B. Behan Borstal Boy 273: [He would] have gone after ’im with a razor blade and shivved him.
1962		R. Cook Crust on its Uppers 33: The ponces who’d shive them without thinking. Ibid.] 107: These bastards who’d have shivved us for a Bovril.
1963		B. Sorkin Steel Shivs 5: I’ll shiv you in. You dirty wop, you.
1988		‘Siriusly’ Speaking in Just Us (H.M. Prison, Beechworth, Vic.) Dec. 27/1: shiv v. To knife .
1990		(con. early 1950s) J. Ellroy L.A. Confidential 326: I’m gonna let him think he can take me, then shiv him.
2001		D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 165/2: shiv (also shivvy or shiv up) v. to stab.
2001		(con. 1964–8) J. Ellroy Cold Six Thousand 3: A Negro shivved a twenty-one dealer. The dealer lost an eye.
2006		B. Matthews Intractable [ebook] [H]e shivved Brisbane wannabe gangster, John Stuart, in the shower room at the Bay.
2012		A. Nette ‘Chasing Atlantis’ in Crime Factory: Hard Labour [ebook] I’m not the one who’s just shivved a man.
2020		C. Hiaasen Squeeze Me 242: ‘The bored white boys wanted to be heroes.’ ‘By shivving you.’ ‘Yeah, with sharpened bed springs’.

2. in fig. use.

1970		L. Sanders Anderson Tapes 86: A man wants to shiv another guy in his company and he spreds the word hes a queer [all sp. sic].
2002		J. Ellroy ‘The D.A.’ in Destination: Morgue! (2004) 154: The Office lost face. Public support dwindled. The office got shivved in the shorts.

In derivatives

shivving (n.)

a stabbing.

1962

B. Sorkin Steel Shivs 83: We pulled the park shivving tyonight.