boogie-woogie, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

boogie-woogie n.

[fig. uses of SE boogie-woogie music]

1. (US) an emotional outburst.

1944

D. Burley Orig. Hbk of Harlem Jive 43: A bit of fine boogie-woogie shall I get hipped to.

2. (US black) the vagina.

1934

S. Theard ‘Rubbin’ on That old Thing’ 🎵 My gal [...] got good boogie-woogie, / But she won’t keep it clean.

3. (US black) a cocktail party.

1934

M. Fulcher ‘Believe Me’ in Afro-American (Baltimore, MD) 3 Nov. 10/3: The Parasites [...] will hold a cocktail soiree, or boogy-woogy [...] with as many cocktails as the gusts can handle.

4. (US, Southern) secondary syphilis.

1942		Z.N. Hurston ‘Story in Harlem Sl.’ in Novels and Stories (1995) 1008: Boogie-woogie: type of dancing and rhythm, in South it meant secondary syphilis.
1960, 1975		Wentworth & Flexner DAS.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 15: Some terms have escaped their original moorings almost completely, notably a number of jazz words (e.g. boogie-woogie, referring to secondary syphilis, and jelly-roll, referring to the vulva).

5. (US black) sexual intercourse.

1961

R.P. Williams ‘Goodtime lonesome Blues’ 🎵 You been sleepin’ out of me all night doin’ a lowdown boogie-woogie.

In phrases

pitch a boogie-woogie (v.)

1. (US black) to make a fuss, to behave in an aggressive manner; esp. of marital arguments.

1936		‘Hectic Harlem’ in N.Y. Amsterdam News 8 Feb. sect. 2: PITCH A BOOGIE-WOOGIE. – Get drunk and immediate desire is to fight the world.
1938		Pittsburgh Courier (PA) 12 Feb. 11/7: Laura Holland is making the rounds [...] with a well-known bandleader whose wife would pitch a boogie-woogie if she only knew.
1946		Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues 64: Al pitched a boogie-woogie about Mitzi’s romance.
1958		Hughes & Bontemps Book of Negro Folklore 486: pitch a boogie-woogie : Raise sand; fuss, quarrel violently. His wife pitched a boogie-woogie when he wasn’t home for dinner.
2010		R. Skloot Henrietta Lacks 45: ‘Hennie went down there with a switch. Yes Lord. She pitched a boogie like I never seen’ .

2. (US black) to have a good, uproarious time.

1936		Harlem Hamfats ‘We Gonna Pitch a Boogie-Woogie’ 🎵 We’re going to pitch a boogie-woogie, going to have a ball tonight.
1936		C. Martin ‘I’m Gonna Have My Fun—When I Get My Bonus’ lyrics] Ain’t gonna drink no moonshine, nothing but ’bottled in bond’ / Kick up my heels, pitch a boogie-woogie boys from sun to sun.