Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to shoot, poss. to kill.

1799		Sporting Mag. Jan. XIII 218/2: The man in the head of the horses called out – out – ‘D—n your eyes Jack give it them;’ upon which the man fired, but missed.
1837		R.M. Bird Nick of the Woods II 139: Try ’em agin, boys! give it to ’em handsome once more!
1879		A. Pinkerton Reminiscences 150: ‘Give it to him — shoot!’ yelled the Texan.
1931		C.B. Yorke ‘Snowbound’ in Gangster Stories Oct. n.p.: ‘Give it to her, Gus, if she moves a muscle’.
1938		D. Runyon ‘Princess O’Hara’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 442: Fats does not wish to have spectators spying on him when he is giving it to somebody.
1948		J. Archibald ‘Klump a la Carte’ Popular Det. July 🌐 Stop makin’ a speech, Maxie, an’ give it t’ the punk!
2021		Breen & Conlon Hitmen 232: ‘We go in and give it to him’.

2. (UK Und.) to rob.

1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 243: give it to: to rob or defraud any place or person, as, I gave it to him for his reader, I robb’d him of his pocket-book. What suit did you give it them upon? In what manner, or by what means, did you effect your purpose?
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue [as cit. 1812].
1887		G. Devol Forty Years a Gambler 64: I came near to giving it to the Judge for a few dollars, and then give them back; but I thought best not to do so.

3. to deceive, to take advantage of credulity.

1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 243: give it to: [...] to impose upon a person’s credulity by telling him a string of falsehoods; or to take any unfair advantage of another’s inadvertence or unsuspecting temper, on any occasion; in either case, the party at last dropping down, that is, detecting your imposition, will say, I believe you have been giving it to me nicely all this while.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue [as cit. 1812].
1902		Ade Forty Modern Fables 28: The Campaign Committee gave it to him Raw.

4. (also gin it to) to hit, to beat, to stab.

1802		M. & R. Lovell Edgeworth Essays on Irish Bulls 130: I out’s with my bread-earner, and gives it him up to Lamprey in the bread basket.
1824		J. Wight Mornings in Bow St. 116: [Y]e Irish Grecian, says he — come out o’ that and I’ll give it to ye! And he pulls the coat off him, and shakes his fist in the face of me.
1835		Dickens ‘Miss Evans & the Eagle’ in Slater Dickens’ Journalism I (1994) 230: ‘Take that,’ exclaimed Mr. Samuel Wilkins... ‘Give it him,’ said the waistcoat... Miss J’mima Ivins’s beat and the friend’s young man lay gasping on the gravel, and the waistcoat and whiskers were seen no more.
1837		R.M. Bird Nick of the Woods III 29: Give it to ’em good!
1846		Bell’s Life in Sydney 13 June 3/2: [...] Ellen Johnson, another frail sister, residing near her, whom she threatened to tear out of the verandah, and to ‘give it’ to her.
1847		J. Downey Cruise of the Portsmouth (1963) 91: Give it to him [...] once more – just under his fin – Hurra – there he spouts the claret.
c.1858		J.H. Green Reformed Gambler 133: It’s tarnal well for you, that I aint at hum, for if I was, I’d give it to ye, darn quick, tew.
1866		Wild Boys of London I 20/1: Give it him, Pug [...] Cop him a hot ’un on the smeller.
1876		‘Dan de Quille’ Big Bonanza (1947) 276: They saw Blazer surrounded by half a dozen ‘Coasters,’ who were giving it to him right and left.
1887		E. Custer Tenting on the Plains (rev. edn 1895) 388: All the boys done bully, but Corporal Jackson — he flinked. The way he flinked was, to wait till the boys had drove the Injuns two miles, and then he hollered, ‘Gin it to ’em!’.
1894		G.A. Henty Dorothy’s Double I 132: They goes out looking red in the face, and in a regular paddy, and you can see by the way they grips their umbrellas they would like to give it to someone .
1900		Boy’s Own Paper 22 Dec. 183: Come ’ome, Mary, and bring that young wretch with you. I’ll give it to ’im.
1912		E. Pugh City Of The World 171: I’ll give it to you, you Sam!
1939		K. Tennant Foveaux 247: Give it to ’em! Put in the boot, boys!
1949		N. Algren Man with the Golden Arm 234: Someone ought to give it to her good.
1951		Kerouac On the Road (The Orig. Scroll) (2007) 330: The fear if they caught me they’d really give it to me – I mean rubber hoses and the works.
1957		H. Simmons Corner Boy 114: They gave it to him bad.
1965		L. Bruce How to Talk Dirty 3: When you come home, you have to ‘give it’ to someone.
1973		T. Loughran in Heller In This Corner (1974) 119: I really gave it to him in the third [round]. He’d never go in with me again.
1987		B. Chatwin Songlines 35: ‘Go on,’ he said, encouragingly. ‘Give it ’im.’.
1996		(con. 1949) G. Pelecanos Big Blowdown (1999) 258: He glanced at the skinned knuckles [...] ‘You gave it to Morgan pretty good.’.

5. to admonish severely.

1850		F.E. Smedley Frank Fairlegh (1878) 329: I heard ye blowing of him up [...] Lor, how I wish I’d been there to see; but I heard ye though – I heard ye a giving it to him.
1854		N.Y. Pick (NY) 29 Apr. n.p.: The ‘little giant’ has given it to the twenty-five clergymen who represent the gospel accoring to Christ.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1883		J. Payn Thicker than Water I 251: She gave it him pretty stiff, I fancy.
1903		J. London People of the Abyss 169: They had surrounded one of their number, a pleasant-faced man of thirty, and were giving it to him rather heatedly.
1911		A. Bennett Card (1974) 181: When Denry reached home that evening, Mrs Machin, as the phrase is, ‘gave it him’.
1941		F. Swados House of Fury (1959) 83: Hope they ketch ’em, give it to ’em good; them niggers is too wild.
1949		I. Shulman Cry Tough! 148: His missus came in one day and gave it to him good.
1964		P. Terson Night to Make the Angels Weep (1967) II xvi: Go on, give it to ’em governor.
1975		Bulletin (Sydney) 26 Apr. 45: Marg pulls the manager into his office – really givin’ it to him about what an arse of a place his store really is.
1996		(con. 1959) G. Pelecanos Big Blowdown (1999) 310: Just readin’ about Ike. He really gave it to the Reds in this speech he made.
2000		Guardian G2 2 Feb. 10: I was furious [...] I marched my son downstairs and really gave it to him.

6. to punish severely.

1883		O. Schreiner Story of African Farm (1975) 90: Give it him, old missis! Give it him!
1895		J. Caminada Twenty-Five Years of Detective Life I 332: He brought them before the beak, and thought to give it them hot, / But his little game was off.
1951		C. Stoker Thicker ’n Thieves 286: Not one deputy, but two were given the responsibility of seeing to it that I didn’t wriggle off the felonious hook. Moreover, one [...] Clifford Crail, was accredited with being its toughest prosecutor. [...] the District Attorney told him to forget his duties in that city and come to Los Angeles to give it to me.
1975		Bulletin (Sydney) 26 Apr. 44: But, Jesus, Gulchy, they give it to you all right, mate. What was you duddin’? The Ampol buildin’ or somethin’?

7. of a man, to have sexual intercourse.

1929		Wesley Wilson & Harry McDaniels ‘Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter’ 🎵 Last night, ’bout half past four, / Heard a funny noise in the room next door: / ‘Give it to me, daddy, I want it so bad, / If you don’t give it to me, you’ll make me mad’.
1951		J.D. Salinger Catcher in the Rye (1958) 41: One minute he’d be giving it to her in his cousin’s Buick, the next minute he’d be giving it to her under some boardwalk.
1966		T. Keyes All Night Stand 29: I just climbed straight on and gave it to her.
1970		E. Thompson Garden of Sand (1981) 3799: Give it to me, big boy!
1970		in P.R. Runkel Law Unto Themselves 74: I read once where if a man stops givin’ it to his wife there’s somethin’ the matter with ’im.
1988		J. Healy Grass Arena (1990) 72: How’s he keep so fit then, sleeping under the trees and giving it to the whores?
1993		T. Jones Pugilist at Rest 106: I really gave it to her. I really let her have it.
1996		(con. 1970) G. Moxley Danti-Dan in McGuinness Dazzling Dark (1996) I vi: A tiger in her tank, that’s what she needs, and I know who’d give it to her too.
1997		(con. 1960s) A. Frewin London Blues 122: When I told you you were going to be giving it to two young white girls you couldn’t get your dick around here quick enough.
1999		R.G. Barrett Wind & Monkey (2013) [ebook] Les rolled Digger over and gave it to her again.
2000		N. Griffiths Grits 92: Ee weyted fer er ter nod off an en tirned er over an stuck it upper arse’ole, geyv it to er in-a shitter like.
2014		M. Sheridan ‘Feeling Good’ in ThugLit Jan. [ebook] If Green was giving it to her, I would give her double.
2016		A. Wheatle Crongton Knights 26: [He] would switch to psycho mode if he found out an eighteen-year-old bruv was giving it to his daughter.

8. of a woman, to permit intercourse.

1949		H. Miller Sexus (1969) 384: Give it to me, give it to me, you bugger!
1950		‘Hal Ellson’ Tomboy (1952) 157: If I really loved a guy, I’d never give it to him, not unless we were married.
1968		J. Hersey Algiers Motel Incident 107: I know a lovely woman, name of Mrs. Murphy, who’s dyin’ to give it to you. Just pay me.
1978		R. Charles Brother Ray 216: If I’m gone for six months, I won’t ask the little lady if she gave it to anyone.
1982		P. Bailey An Eng. Madam 73: I probably gave it to him: ‘Get it over with,’ I thought.
1995		J. Cameron Vinnie Got Blown Away 41: On account of we missed it before she gave me it in the ladies’.
2000		N. Griffiths Grits 175: Al chuck yuh if yuh dorn’t give us it an tell evrihone yir a slag.

9. (US Und.) to murder, to execute.

1929		C. Coe Hooch! 163: I think they slipped him the bump [...] they gave it to him plenty.
1937		P. Cheyney Dames Don’t Care (1960) 134: I’m going to give it to you. And I’ll try and do it so that it won’t hurt too much.
1947		I. Shulman Amboy Dukes 149: Word spread throughout the room that Crazy Shak was going to give it to a guy.
1955		B. Schulberg On the Waterfront (1964) 14: You don’t see me going around giving it to them in broad daylight.
1978		R. Caron Go-Boy! 257: Give it to the frog!

10. to tease, to provoke.

1970

‘Red’ Rudensky Gonif 138: A brash twenty year old [...] who was no more than a crude punk, gave it me in the quarry. ‘Hey, Red, I hear a con’s brains can go soft in that Southern sun.’.