cave, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

cave v.

(mainly US)

1. to give in, to yield to pressure from above, to break down, to give way.

1844		Spirit of the Times (N.Y.) 23 Mar. 42/2: List ’till I tell you, and if you do not agree with me, why, I’ll cave .
1855		‘Philip Paxton’ Wonderful Adventures Capt. Priest 64: Ye’ll have a supper together [...] and the one who ‘caves’ first shall pay the shot .
1866		C.H. Smith Bill Arp 172: Marks ses, ‘Now, sir, you will take the stand and translate this Latin into English, so that the court may understand it.’ Well, he jest caved, for he couldn’t do it.
1872		G.P. Burnham Memoirs of the US Secret Service 99: Then the Colonel proceeded to an interview with his prisoner, who at once ‘knuckled’ to the Chief, whose men had run him ‘to [sic] close’. Dow caved!
1883		H. Smart Hard Lines II 266: The Russians will cave when they find we are in earnest.
1896		W.C. Gore Student Sl. in Cohen (1997) 12: cave v. To give up; to weaken; to confess.
1897		O. Wister Lin McLean 148: ‘They’ve caved!’ he shouted.
1900		Flynt & Walton Powers That Prey 26: He stood it as long as he could, his face and hands being cut and bruised and smeared all over with blood, and then cried out: ‘I cave — I cave!’.
1999		K. Sampson Powder 221: Wheezer caved first. ‘OK, Todd. Forget it.’.
2023		M. Grossman Lost in Trans Nation 26: [M]y profession caved to ideology or, if you prefer, caved to compassion.

2. (also cave in) to die.

1863

in R.G. Carter Four Brothers in Blue (1978) 19 Jan. 225: Lest we ‘cave in’ on this campaign, I write just before starting.

In phrases

cave in (v.)

1. (orig. US) to give in, to yield to pressure from above, to break down, to give way, to collapse; also as n. (see cit. 1886).

1848		N.-Y. Trib. 4 Mar. n.p.: [They] will cave in ... though they talk loud against it now [B].
1855		T. Haliburton Nature and Human Nature I 104: He was a plucky fellow [...] and warn’t a goin’ to cave in that way. [Ibid.] 178: I never was sold so before, I vow; I cave in.
1859		‘Timothy Titcomb’ Letters to Young People 141: You might just as well ‘cave in,’ first as last, and ‘absquatulate,’ for you can’t ‘put it through,’ ‘any way you can fix it.’.
1869		F. Whymper Travel and Adventure in Alaska 311: If one or the other ‘weakens,’ or shows signs of ‘caving’ in and leaving, he is said to ‘get up and dust.’.
1879		‘’Arry on the Road’ in Punch 9 Aug. 83/2: But cave in and cut it? Not me!
1886		‘’Arry on Commercial Education’ in Punch 26 Sept. in P. Marks (2006) 124: Wy, I calls that a reglar cave-in to the yah-yah and Pollyvoo lot.
1892		H. Nisbet Bushranger’s Sweetheart 307: Cave in, Captain Rainbow, for your time is up.
1908		S.E. White Riverman 17: ‘When that sheriff comes, with or without a posse, I want you to go peaceably.’ [...] ‘Cave in? Not much!’ cried Purdy.
1912		Bulletin (Sydney) 3 Oct. 48/1: Well, don’t cave in now. I’ll see you through, and when you come back you’ll be a practical surveyor.
1930		J. Lait Put on the Spot 74: If City Hall caves in, I have to know it right away.
1943		W. Guthrie Bound for Glory (1969) 206: Then I got so dizzy I caved in.
1961		F. O’Connor An Only Child (1970) 35: At that point only did he give in – ‘cave in’ better describes what really happened.
1974		D. Ireland Burn 27: The old man caves in a bit round the chops when these words kick him in the face.
1990		(con. early 1950s) J. Ellroy L.A. Confidential 105: Bobby Inge’s door caved in easy.
1999		Indep. Rev. 30 June 12: Many have finally caved in and become the sweetly-scented, sensitive, handy-in-the-kitchen creatures we demanded.
2005		L. Standiford Meet You in Hell 149: Union leaders [...] believ[ed] that the pressures would induce the company to cave in.

2. (N.Z.) to defecate.

1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 26/1: cave in to defecate; Tom Scott sources to Feilding freezing works.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].

cave in someone’s crust (v.)

see bust someone’s crust under crust n.¹

cave out (v.) [mining jargon cave out, the metal casing at the end of a tunnel]

(orig. US) to come to an end.

1909

J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era.

cave it (v.)

(N.Z. prison) to spend time in one’s cell.

2001

D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 39/1: cave v. D cave it 1to be in one’s cell: ‘If you're looking for x, he’s caving itat the moment’.