coat, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

coat v.

[the image of grabbing a lapel; note also the beating that accompanies the coating of a miscreant with tar and feathers]

1. to reprimand, to scold.

1989		J. Morton Lowspeak 41: Coat – to tell off, or to scold, as in ‘I gave him a right coating’.
1996		(con. 1964-65) B. Thorpe Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 269: ‘I’ll be fuckin’ coated for life’.
1997		‘Q’ Deadmeat 249: An American man was coating her [...] ‘I don’t need you disrepectin me.’.
2007		N. ‘Razor’ Smith Raiders 113: The judge absolutely coated me for about ten minutes.

2. to arrest; thus, as n., a suspect.

1970		‘Metropolitan Police Sl.’ in P. Laurie Scotland Yard (1972) 322: coat, have you got a?: intimation of arrest.
1989		J. Morton Lowspeak 41: Coat – a suspect.

3. to beat up, to hit.

[1859		Wkly Varieties (Boston, MA) 29 Oct. 7/2: Joe [...] must abandon his habit of conveying she-cattle down into his den, or Joseph will be preseted with a ‘coat of many colors’].
1956		‘Charles Raven’ Und. Nights 168: It’s him you ought to be coating, not me.
1995		J. Cameron Vinnie Got Blown Away 160: Whack. Got coated off like I never been coated.
1996		(con. 1964-65) B. Thorpe Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 284: To be ‘coated’ or ‘put on the coat’ was street slang for hung out to dry. If someone was coated [...] they would get a hiding.

4. (Aus.) to ostracize [in Aus. one tugs one’s own lapel as a sign that a given person is not to be trusted].

1967

‘Whisper All Aussie Dict.’ in Kings Cross Whisper (Sydney) xxxiii 4/3: coated: To be on the outer. Signals are passed on behind an unpopular person’s back by the tugging of one’s coat lapel as a warning to be guarded on what is said.

5. (US gay) to have vaginal, oral or anal intercourse.

1972

B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 87: to insert a cock into a vagina, mouth or anus [...] coat (dated).

In phrases

give someone a coating (v.)

1. to beat up, to thrash.

1938		J. Curtis They Drive by Night 71: Give him a good coating in the station. He’ll come his guts.
1941		G. Kersh They Die with Their Boots Clean 5: You’ll give old Hitler a coating.

2. (UK Und.) to give someone a reprimand.

1977

D. Powis Signs of Crime 178: Coating, give a Reprimand.

on the coat

(Aus.) out of favour; esp. in phr. have/put on the coat, to place someone in a position of disfavour.

1953		K. Tennant Joyful Condemned 92: I happened to say something about that old hag Jess who runs it, and she’s had me on the coat ever since.
1967		‘Whisper All Aussie Dict.’ in Kings Cross Whisper (Sydney) xxxviii 10/1: on the coat: A person who is unpopular.
1982		G. Newbold Big Huey 130: A lot of my old mates [...] disapproved totally of what was happening and put me on the coat.
1990		Tupper & Wortley Aus. Prison Sl. Gloss. 🌐 Coat. As in ‘to put on the coat’, ie send to Coventry. To isolate and ignore someone.
2001		D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 44/2: coat n. on the coat shunned, ostracised, ignored by other inmates. put (one) on the coat to shun, ignore, ostracise.