Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to shoot down, to kill.

1726		Adventures Captain Robert Boyle (1776) 165: My Indians, whom I had ordered to wear 'Swords on Shore, fell upon them furiously, and dispatch’d two of ’em immediately, and I had made a shift to drop a third .
1824		History of Gaming Houses & Gamesters 57: He was obliged to cut, on account of his having dropped a certain gambling brewer in a duel, a termination to his mashing career.
1848		G.F. Ruxton Life in the Far West (1849) 12: He [...] blazes away at the first Injun as comes up, and dropped him slick.
1857		T.H. Gladstone Englishman in Kansas 47: I tell you I’m bound to drop some one afore I’m done – that I am. I’ve got to fight for the liberties of my country and our glorious constitution, and rid the place of those cowardly blue-bellied Yankies.
1876		Besant & Rice Golden Butterfly II 94: Huggins crept in quiet, and dropped a bullet through his neck before he had time to turn.
1877		E.L. Wheeler Deadwood Dick in Beadle’s Half Dime Library I:1 83/1: Get down! [...] before I drop you.
1884		Daily News 5 Sept. in Ware (1909) 118/1: About two minutes after he had the revolver his body was swung a little on one side, when I pointed my revolver and fired where I thought I could drop him.
1888		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery Under Arms (1922) 3: He was rash, or Starlight would never have dropped him that day.
1890		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer II 241: Say you could drop Mr. Merlin, why we can ‘twice’ you over and over.
1900		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 21 Apr. 3/1: [headline] how a missouri marshal / Who Did Not Know What Fear meant / dropped two fighting texans.
1904		‘G.B. Lancaster’ Sons O’ Men 256: ‘Ass [...] He’s going to be dropped himself.’ The rifle spoke on the heel of the words.
1917		F. Packard Adventures of Jimmie Dale (1918) I v: You make a move and I’ll drop you for keeps.
1924		‘Digit’ Confessions of a Twentieth Century Hobo 162: Move one pace from there or attempt to lower your hands and I’ll drop you.
1935		F. Nebel ‘Winter Kill’ in Goulart (1967) 124: I’m really part of the wallpaper [...] except I shoot. Drop it, Church, or I drop little sister.
1948		N. Nye Breed of the Chaparral (1949) 136: Had Jess Crowly dropped Sheriff Tom Curry that night?
a.1954		‘Mexicana Rose’ in D. Wepman et al. Life (1976) 42: I dropped him with a cap from my Colt .44.
1969		D. Pendleton Executioner (1973) 160: ‘Believe you dropped about ten with that burst,’ he said.
1977		(con. 1949) J.G. Dunne True Confessions (1979) 30: Lenny Lewis was making off with his wallet and eleven hundred dollars when Tom Spellacy dropped him.
1988		H. Gould Double Bang 145: Vinnie would drop the prick where he was sitting.
1993		K. Scott Monster (1994) 14: I [...] was putting in much work and dropping many bodies.
2000		P. Beatty Tuff 17: Watching children flick skelly caps over the sidewalk epitaphs where so-and-so’s nigger got dropped.
2006		J. Ridley What Fire Cannot Burn 275: If a guy’s got a gun, if the guy points the gun at you, you drop him.
2009		P. Temple Truth 212: The first one fell onto the road, and then the second one, I don’t know where, where he came from, but I dropped him as well.
2012		‘Dutch’ ? (Pronounced Que) [ebook] Egypt dropped him with two in the dome.
2020		G. Krauze What They Was 159: [N]o way can SK not retaliate and drop a body or two.

2. to ejaculate; to achieve orgasm.

1781

Belle’s Stratagem 32: Fluter: Psha! Let’s drop it. Letitia: Nay, my Lord, you dropt it half an hour since.

3. to die.

1848		Thackeray Vanity Fair I 145: I lay five to two, Matilda drops in a year.
1873		Royal Cornwall Gaz. 31 May 7/4: I danced and sang until I was ready to ‘drop’.
1888		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery Under Arms (1922) 146: If I drop one of these fine days — and it’s on the cards any time.
1916		N. Douglas London Street Games 72: Cold meat, mutton pies, / Tell me when your mother dies. [...] Cold meat, mutton chops, / Tell me when your mother drops.
1952		W.R. Burnett Little Men, Big World 145: We’re both worn out chasing all over Polishtown. Lola’s about to drop.
1999		Indep. Weekend Rev. 5 June 5: I wanna do it like Muddy Waters did, till I drop.

4. to knock down; also in fig. use.

1812		Sporting Mag. XXXIX 243: The coachman dropped his man the first round.
1842		Wkly Rake (NY) 26 Nov. n.p.: the rake wants to knowWhy Bill O. did not drop thqat Dutchman [...] We always thought you would fight ’till you died, when you were insulted.
1852		F.E. Smedley Lewis Arundel 40: When you do make a hit, drop your man if possible; it settles him, and frightens the rest.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1873		W.H. Thomes Bushrangers 398: I’ll be dished if I don’t – drop yer if yer talk in that kind of style.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 11 Apr. 17/4: Once up and facing his opponent again, the latter dropped him with a very hot one on his ear, and this settled the business.
1890		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer I 76: They’ve all one fault, and it drops ’em in the end.
1900		Boy’s Own Paper 29 Dec. 194: The black scoundrel was goin’ to drive his spear into yer back when I dropped him!
1904		Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 27 July 6/2: Twice the ‘jolly’ dropped Cartwright with clean punches.
1913–14		Van Loan ‘The Revenge of Kid Morales’ in Taking the Count 278: I’m going to drop this greaser in three rounds.
1923		H.C. Witwer Fighting Blood 72: The worst preliminary boloney which ever rubbed a shoe in rosin would drop you for the count when you lead wit’ ’at right of yours!
1937		F.C. Painton ‘The Devil Must Pay’ in Goodstone Pulps (1970) 18/2: I have dropped men bigger than myself with that punch.
1938		Morn. Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld) 12 Sept. 6/3: Stand back or I’ll drop you as dead as a maggot. I will drop you cold.
1945		(con. 1937) R. Westerby Mad in Pursuit 160: Jim got beat by Vizard last Monday. Dropped in the forf from a low dig.
1951		(con. 1941) E. Lambert Twenty Thousand Thieves 213: A man oughter drop you.
1966		T. Keyes All Night Stand 54: ‘I’ll drop you,’ he says, all serious.
1975		J. Wambaugh Choirboys (1976) 286: This hamburger they were busting thinks he’s Kung Fu and tries to drop Baxter.
1986		C. Bowles G’DAY 29: Les gives her a right-hander. Maureen picks up the jaffle-iron and drops him. Then it's on for young and old and Shane ends up calling the cops.
1987		(con. 1967) E. Spencer Welcome to Vietnam (1989) 52: Every guy I ever dropped with one hand dropped from a punch from my right.
1997		Simon & Burns Corner (1998) 30: Yo, did you see DeAndre hit that motherfucker? Yo, he dropped him.
2006		P. Carey Theft 22: He dropped Mr Cox after he strapped me for answering incorrectly.
2012		C. Stella Rough Riders 77: I had to whack him pretty hard to drop him.
2016		N. Cummins Adventures of the Honey Badger [ebook] [He] just jumped the fence and dropped the big-mouthed bastard.
2019		M. Herron Joe Country [ebook] [S]he’d made it clear she was dangerous by dropping Cyril.

5. (US Und.) to arrest.

1938		F.D. Sharpe Sharpe of the Flying Squad 330: dropping : [...] The word is also used to describe the capture of one or more of a gang. (Those who escaped would say : ‘We dropped Bill last night.’).
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn) 75: drop To be caught with stolen goods.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 62/1: Drop, v. 1. To arrest; to be arrested.
1960, 1975		Wentworth & Flexner DAS.
1978		R. Daley Prince of the City 107: Nunziata [...] had been investigating someone else and had dropped Corso almost by accident.
1989		A. Vachss Hard Candy (1990) 139: They drop you for this, you’re not going to jail.
2010		Codella and Bennett Alphaville (2011) 10: He’s been pretty chill from the moment we dropped him so I loosen his cuffs.
2022		J. Hannaham Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit 259: [Y]ou don’t need to drop me cause I ain’t done no drugs or no alcohols.

6. (US) to be convicted of a crime.

1928		Rocky Mountain News (Denver) 13 Nov. in AS III:3 254: If one of ’em [i.e. a criminal] ‘drops’ he goes to the ‘big house.’.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 62/1: Drop, v. [...] 2. To lose, as a criminal court case, an appeal, a game, a sum of money, etc.
1983		S. King Christine 415: If they do drop it on me somehow [...] I’ll get a suspended sentence.

7. to fire a bullet.

2000

Guardian Rev. 4 Mar. 3: Koehler fired twice into Glennon’s corpse – ‘I dropped two more into the bum’, he says.