Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. strong liquor, whisky.

1812		Spirit of Irish Wit 32: Terry deals in hardware, Conner is a turkey merchant, and drinks his mahagony tea every morning.
1835		W. Otter Hist. of My Own Times (1995) 85: He was as fond of sport as any body, with one exception, he was fond of the hardware, and I was not, although I never poured it into my shoes, neither when it was agoing, although I never was so fond of it as Mr. C. was.
1839		Spirit of the Times (N.Y.) 1 June 153/3: He prepared to swallow his fifth invoice of ‘hardware’ [DA].
1842		Flash (NY) 18 Sept. n.p.: Those two young men were after hardware who called at certain houses in Leonard street.
1852		Knickerbocker (N.Y.) XXXIX 105: He was reckless and ‘extravagant’; that is, he spent all his money for ‘hardware’ [DA].
1879		C.J. Kickham Knocknagow 238: He’s stickin’ to the cordial, but I’m afraid he puts in a drop uv the hardware sometimes by mistake.
1887		Daily Trib. (Bismarck, ND) 23 Oct. 4/1: Liquor is [...] ‘hardware.’.
1929		Hostetter & Beesley It’s a Racket! 227: hardware—Hard liquor; whiskey.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 91/2: Hardware. [...] 3. All hard alcoholic beverages.

2. (US Und.) counterfeit coins.

1859		Matsell Vocabulum.
1881		Trumble Sl. Dict. (1890) 17: Hardware. False coin.

3. (US) coins, cash.

1949

Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).

4. (orig. UK Und.) guns, ammunition, safe-cracking equipment and other ‘tools of the trade’.

1865		L.N. Boudrye Fifth N.Y. Cavalry (1868) 38: Capt. Hammond [...] charged upon the rebels in his front, crying as he flew forward, ‘give them your hardware, boys!’ [DA].
1885		Daily News 12 Nov. in Ware (1909) 150/2: If King Theebaw has had the precaution to lay in a supply of torpedoes, he may be able to give the expedition some trouble, but the chances are that the authorities at Rangoon may have had an eye on such kind of ‘hardware’.
1903		Ade People You Know 182: He went home to oil up his Pocket Hardware.
1911		G. Bronson-Howard Enemy to Society 291: The bunch of us oughta be able to swear Trompey into Matteawan if we stand ‘pat’; but if we start tryin’ to unload hardware and seein’ coppers through th’ smoke, we’re gone.
1928		M. Bodenheim Georgie May 985: She brandished the razor [...] With a mighty effort he had forced a grin to his face and said: ‘Co-o-ome o-on, Em, lay down that nigger hardware—you might cut your pretty face’.
1935		A. Wallace ‘Body Ransom’ in Spicy Detective Stories Nov. 🌐 What’s the big idea, Monty! [...] Why the frisk and why the hardware?
1940		O. Strange Sudden Takes the Trail 11: It’s a risky job [...] Unless you can handle yore hardware above the average.
1952		(con. 1920s) ‘Harry Grey’ Hoods (1953) 98: ‘Come in, gentlemen,’ he said coolly. ‘Why all the display of hardware?’.
1969		D. Pendleton Executioner (1973) 74: Had to show our licenses for the hardware.
1975		E. Torres Carlito’s Way 7: The Copiens, the Socialistics, the Bachelors [...] these were the gangs that started using hardware.
1981		H. Gould Fort Apache, The Bronx 84: Murphy don’t need no hardware [...] All he has to do is breathe on the suckers and they give up without a fight.
1997		(con. 1970s) G. Pelecanos King Suckerman (1998) 165: Go up to the house and bring the hardware on down.
2001		(con. 1975–6) E. Little Steel Toes 78: I’m headed into Chicago to deliver some hardware to the South Side. Wanna ride shotgun?
2001		D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 85/1: hardware n. a firearm.
2006		D. Winslow Winter of Frankie Machine (2007) 52: ‘Are you carrying?’ ‘Sure.’ [...] ‘Leave the hardware in the car’.
2009		L. McIlvanney All the Colours 308: They had lost some hardware [...] the Peelers had found their cache.
2021		S.A. Crosby Razorblade Tears 36: ‘[S]ome of the homeboys that buy hardware from us’.

5. jewellery.

1939		D. Trumbo Sorority House [film script] Miss Fisher – I see you have some new hardware [i.e. a sorority pin] [HDAS].
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).

6. (drugs) isobutyl nitrite.

2001

ONDCP Street Terms 11: Hardware — Isobutyl nitrite; inhalants.

7. equipment (other than that in sense 4).

2011

J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 55: I’ve got you the hardware [...] passport, flight ticket, the lot.