boil, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

boil v.

1. (UK Und.) to find out, to unmask, to betray; thus boiling n., a betrayal.

1602		Rowlands Greene’s Ghost Haunting Coniecatchers 16: His cloyer or follower forthwith boyles him, that is, bewrayes him.
1608		Dekker Belman of London H1: He that pickes the Pocket is called a Foyst. He that faceth the man is the Stale. The spying of this villanie, is called Smoaking or Boiling. [Ibid.] H3: If the Nip denie Snappage the Cloyer forthwith Boyles him, that is bewrayes him, or seaseth on his cloake.
1611		Middleton & Dekker Roaring Girle V i: We are boiled, pox on her!

2. (US) to rush along.

1858		G.W. Harris ‘Sut Lovingood’s Adventures in New York’ N.Y. Atlas XXI Aug. in Inge (1967) 139: Arter that feller fell in the ruver, I jist biled, tuck down the lane.
1924		P. Marks Plastic Age 113: There was excitement in the air; the college was beginning to stew and boil again.
1951		P. Whelton Angels are Painted Fair 124: Freddy March, and a Post man, Vic Coe, boiled into the office.
1953		W. Hopson ‘The Ice Man Came’ Thrilling Detective Winter 🌐 We boiled out of there in a couple of cars.
1983		S. King Christine 10: It’s got a Hurst gearbox, a supercharger, and it can boil the road in first gear.

3. to be angry; thus adjs. boiled up, boiling up/over, angry.

1871		E. Eggleston Hoosier School-Master (1892) 199: Ralph boiled a little.
1923		H.C. Witwer Fighting Blood 197: Well I’m boiling over, so I get up.
1929		E. Booth Stealing Through Life 259: A guy gets to boiling up in here and says a lot of guff he don’t mean. [Ibid.] 261: This solitary pacing earned me the reputation of being constantly ‘boiled up’.
1931		E. Clark Innocence Abroad 200: I can never do much with anything unless I am fairly boiling over with it.
1939		K. Tennant Foveaux 253: ‘Disgraceful,’ Honest John boiled. ‘If I had them I’d show them!’.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 28: boil up To become angry. In use 1874. ANZ.

4. to tease, to trick.

1896

Regiment 27 June 203/3: ‘[H]e thought the Sergeant was having him on a bit of toast, “boiling him,” as the men call it, sir’.

SE in slang uses

In compounds

boil-out (n.)

(US drugs) total abstention from narcotics in the hope of achieving complete withdrawal.

1942		Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Sl.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1959		J.E. Schmidt Narcotics Lingo and Lore.

boilover (n.)

1. a difficult or unpleasant situation.

1874

F.C. Burnand My Time 377: ‘Oho!’ laughed Rowdie, ‘Here’s a pretty blessed boil over!’.

2. (Aus.) in sport, spec. horseracing, an upset, the failure of a favourite to win; thus boiled ’un, horse intended to lose.

1868		Empire (Sydney) 1 Aug. 3/1: There are not wanting those who insinuate that Lady Ellzabeth was what in racing slang they termed a ‘boiled un’ — that, in fact, she was not to win.
1871		Aus. Town and Country Journal (Sydney) 18 Feb. 217/3: The sensation has this week been the Launceston Champion Race, with its boil over, and the knowing fraternity now begin to wonder if there be a possibility [...] of a favourite pulling off this great event [AND].
1880		Bulletin (Sydney) 20 Nov. 8/3: Even after the Trickett-Hanlan boil-over, we’re willing to wager [etc.].
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 6 June 20/3: The night was big enough, so was the meeting-house. But the audience was small. […] We believe the Bulletin, by showing the true colour of the Soudan scandal, had something to do with this boil-over.
1895		Truth (Sydney) 13 Jan. 5/2: The Burrows election will probably be a boil-over for the old, recognised political parties.
1900–10		Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.] 23: BOIL-OVER: sporting slang an upsetting of foregone conclusion of calculations; a surprise or unexpected conclusion [...] The ‘pot boiled over’ is the rest of this phrase – the ‘pot’ being English sporting slang for the first favourite.
1934		C. Drew ‘Shakespeare Harry’s Runner’ in Bulletin 27 June 50/4: Talk about a boilover.The black’s crowd thought he’d been bought, and threatened to string him up.
1966		J. Holledge Great Aust. Gamble 117: The biggest postwar sensation at Stawell occurred in 1947 with a ‘boilover’.
1996		Ozwords Oct. 🌐 boilover the unexpected defeat of a hot favourite; a surprise result. Our earliest evidence for this use is from 1871. The term was later used in contexts outside horseracing ? for an unexpected result in any context.
1996		J. Byrell Lairs, Urgers & Coat-Tuggers 323: ‘One of the races on a relatively quiet Wednesday afternoon resulted in a real boilover’.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl.

boil-up (n.)

1. (Aus./N.Z.) an argument [one’s temper boils up (and over)].

1884		Otago Daily Times (NZ) 8 Mar. 1: In a few days another boil-up is likely to take place.
1899		Star (Canterbury) 14 Jan. 2: I can tell you there was a fine boil-up in Government House.
1927		Truth 13 Jan. n.p.: [headline] A Boil-Up in Belgium Street.
1941		Baker Popular Dict. Aus. Sl. 11: Boil-up, a row or argument.
2006		P. Shannon Davey Darling 108: This wouldn’t have anything to do with a little boil-up then, would it?

2. (Aus./US/N.Z. tramp) a period during which tramps rest from the road, wash and repair clothes, have a meal and do similar ‘housekeeping’; also as v.

1915		Morn. Tulsa Dly World (OK) 13 June 19/1: Boiling up — Washing clothes.
1927		‘Jargon of the Und.’ in DN V 439: Boil up, v. In the jungles tramps boil their clothes to cleanse and delouse them.
1931		Irwin Amer. Tramp and Und. Sl. 33: Boil Up. – A period of rest, usually beside the railroad right of way and near a stream of some sort, with an opportunity to wash the clothes and person, repair clothing, etc. [...] Boil Up. – To wash and boil the clothing, the latter to kill vermin.
1935		J. Conroy World to Win 56: Beneath a wooden railroad trestle [...] the hoboes stopped for boil-up and a mulligan, if the ingredients could be begged in the town.
1947		P. Newton Wayleggo (1953) 34: It is the practice of musterers to carry billies [...] and to ‘boil-up’ [...] when circumstances permitted.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 17/2: boil-up tea-break, mostly among thirsty trampers boiling the billy.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].

3. (Aus. prison) the illicit making of tea; also as v.

1944		T. Hartley in Simes DAUS 17: Boil-up, a hot drink prepared surrepticiously [sic] in one’s cell.
1972		Parramatta Jail Gloss. B. Moore (ed.) (2023) 61: boil up make illegal cup of tea in cell.
1983		R. Aven-Bray Ridgey-Didge Oz Jack Lang 21: Boil Up Illegal tea making in prison.
1990		Tupper & Wortley Aus. Prison Sl. Gloss. 🌐 Boil up. To prepare boiling water for tea or coffee utilising a boil-up kit, or ‘boiler’.

In phrases

boil a/the pot (v.)

(Aus.) to make a substantial bet, to aim for a betting coup.

1857

Bell’s Life in Victoria (Melbourne) 25 July 2/4: The ‘boiling’ of ‘a pot’ has always been considered [...] to be amongst the most recondite of Turf mysteries [...] and so often ends in the bitterness of disappointment, when the pot ‘boils over’.

boil down (v.)

(US black) to correct or rebuke.

1881

in J. A. Harrison ‘Negro English’ in Modern Lang. Notes 7 in Major (1994).

boil off the stomach (v.)

(US) to vomit copiously.

1970

in DARE.

boil one’s cabbage twice (v.)

see under cabbage n.²

boil one’s lobster (v.)

see under lobster n.¹

boil someone’s cabbage (v.)

see under cabbage n.⁶

boil the billy (v.) [an actual ‘billy’ (trad. associated with cooking in the open) need not be used; the term can be applied to a kettle]

(Aus.) to make a cup of tea.

2000–02

Macquarie Dict. 🌐 4. boil the billy, a. to make tea, not necessarily with a billy can.

In exclamations

go and boil (the back of) your head! (also go and boil your can! go boil yourself!)

a generally dismissive excl., euph. for go to hell!

1877		Dundee Courier 12 Mar. 2/4: He ran out to the stret and shouted, ‘Go and boil your head!’.
1881		Memphis Dly Appeal (TN) 7 Aug. 2/5: [He] very probably would couch his refusal in some such enigmatical phrase as [...] ‘You go boil the back of your head!’.
1885		Edinburgh Eve. News 25 Dec. 2/4: The pursuer, it was allged, assaulted a police constable, and used such expressions [...] as ‘Go home and boil your head’.
1896		E. Pugh Man of Straw 8: You go and boil your head for veal!
1908		Bulletin (Sydney) 31 Dec. 32/1: Hearken unto the murmur of the multitude and to the prayers of the good Pilgrims – / ‘I tell yer ’e’ll EAT ’im!’ / ‘Garn boil yerself!’ / [...] / Brethren, let us join in the Procession.
1914		‘Ian Hay’ Lighter Side of School Life 102: Blake had replied by recommending his late crony to return to his study and boil his head.
1934		Wodehouse Right Ho, Jeeves 203: Oh, for goodness’ sake, go away and boil your head, Bertie!
1939		J. Cary Mister Johnson (1952) 81: Go home – go and boil yourself.
1950		A. Buckeridge Jennings Goes To School 240: ‘Go and boil yourself,’ they said affectionately.
1959		M. Pugh Chancer 128: Go and boil your can. Of all the idiotic...
1960		Wodehouse Jeeves in the Offing 161: She brushed me off, this time with a curt request that I would go and boil my head.
1974		‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell Plays Solomon (1976) 105: All of you can go and boil your bloody heads.