Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (drugs) to use narcotics, esp. heroin, only on an irregular basis rather than to be a habitual addict; thus chipping n.³

1924		G. Henderson Keys to Crookdom 400: Chippy. [...] Chippy user – one who uses narcotics moderately. To chippy with coke – to use cocaine occasionally.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn) 49: chippy with coke To use cocaine occasionally.
1959		J. Blake letter 26 May in Joint (1972) 136: Aspires to the jeesunk and chippys with it.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 59: He had chippied around and got hooked.

2. in non-drug contexts, to work half-heartedly.

1971		T. Thackrey Thief 58: I thought it was just because of my chippying around.
1972		‘Soulful Spider’ ‘Pimp in a Clothing Store’ in Milner & Milner (1972) 286: Yessiree, Jack, he’s coming on down high-sidin’ [...] hollering, ‘Hey, you jive malformies, you better get on your job out there, quit your chippying!’.