Green’s Dictionary of Slang

penniless, absolutely impoverished; thus stone-broke, stone-broker, stony-broke, stony-broker, one who is impoverished;, thus backsl. one-stooke-bro see also motherless adv.

1884		Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday 7 June 41/3: I’m the stoniest of stony brokers.
1885		‘’Arry on ’appiness’ in Punch 3 Jan. 4/1: But ’Arry, for once in the way, ’s a stone-broker, and not in the run.
1888		East London Observer 4 Feb. n.p.: Hundreds, too, of slaved dead beats, / All, all stone broke, / Perambulate the Brisbane streets, / Fit, fit to croak.
1890		‘Dagonet’ ‘The Rondeau of the Knock’ Referee 20 Apr. 7: And when, stone-broke, he could no longer pay / Leaving the ring to gnash its teeth and swear / He took the knock!
1890		Music Hall & Theatre Rev. 24 May 5/1: His thirsty, good-natured, pebble-beached, granite-rocked, o-ne-sto-oke-bro pals.
1891		‘’Arry on a ’ouseboat’ in Punch 15 Aug. 76: There’s dannel the Dosser [...] Fair stone-broker, not wuth ’arf a rap. [Ibid.] 77/1: But the cheek on it, charlie! A Stone-broke! I should like to give him wot for.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 21 Jan. 6/7: Dick and he, both stone-broke, had tramped neath the scorchin’ sun.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 9 Sept. 6/4: ‘Broker! Broker!’ yelled an excited punter. [...] ‘Yes,’ pensively answered a Mark Twain backer. ‘Y-e-e-s, a stone-broker’.
1901		Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 11 Sept. 3/2: Such was the wail of the stony-broke / His precious quids gone wrong.
1904		‘Dryblower’ ‘His Quest’ in Sun. Times (Perth) 3 Apr. 4/7: There’s one [a train] goes down at night-time when the stony-brokers slope.
1904		Sun. Times (Perth) 15 May 1/1: While the top-man is apparently fixing wires he stevedores the stonebroke’s luggage.
1905		Marvel III:55 10: A condition usually designated by them as ‘stony-broke,’ otherwise without necessary funds.
1906		Sun. Times (Perth) 21 Oct. 4/8: The entree quick to many a spree / When I was stony-stiff.
1910		Bulletin (Sydney) 21 July 10/4: ‘Because I was stone-broke and wanted a few days’ board and lodging,’ he said.
1914		Truth (Melbourne) 3 Jan. 3/5: For a stone-broker to apply to the heads of the fashionable religious sects for relief when he is ‘up against it’ would be about as commonensical as anything that can be imagined — over the left.
1917		‘Henry Handel Richardson’ Aus. Felix (1971) 168: I’m stony-broke once more.
1917		A. Brazil Madcap of the School 85: ‘I’ve spent all my allowance [...] It’s hard luck to be stony-broke’.
1929		J.B. Booth London Town 90: His career outside the theatre [...] light-hearted, high-couraged, stony-broke.
1931		Ade Old-Time Saloon 36: The stony-broke who had seen better days would have died rather than go to a back door and beg for a hand-out.
1935		M. Fulcher ‘Believe Me’ in Afro-American (Baltimore, MD) 23 May 12/4: A certain numbers banker who went stone broke [...] was still able to buy a handosme brownstone front.
1936		‘Banjo’ Paterson Shearer’s Colt 41: A pal of mine had a horse that he had to sell, stone-broke you know.
c.1940		‘The Castration of the Strawberry Roan’ in G. Logsdon Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing (1995) 92: I was layin’ round town in a house of ill fame, / Laid up with a rough, tough hustlin’ dame, / When a hop-headed pimp with his nose full of coke / Beat me outta that woman and left me stone broke.
1952		G. Meek ‘A Clean Slate’ Station Days in Maoriland 90: Stony broke and near the grave.
1957		C. Himes Imabelle 61: As soon as my woman buys herself a fur coat and I get myself some new clothes... we’ll be stone broke.
1958		H.S. Thompson letter 6 June in Proud Highway (1997) 127: I am hounded by creditors, bugged by the police, threatened with eviction [...] and stone broke.
1965		C. Himes Rage in Harlem (1969) 61: [as 1957].
1977		K. Gilbert Living Black 62: He can be a millionaire or stony broke but they’re all the same ... one drink and they’re back in the gutter.
1982		R. Dahl Revolting Rhymes n.p.: He said, ‘Oh Mirror, please don’t joke! / Each one of us is stony broke!’.
1996		Penguin Bk of More Aus. Jokes 26: She’s stone, motherless broke.
2001		A. Sillitoe Birthday 86: I’m stony broke. I ain’t even got the price of a pint.
2007		S. Maloney Sucked In 224: Gilpin’s stony-broke and woofing bonkers.