Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a quick glance of appraisal; usu. as give the once-over v., to look over, to assess.

1913		T.A. Dorgan in Zwilling TAD Lex. (1993) 61: {Picture of Sam Langford seated at a table on which is a chicken on a plate labelled Jess Willard} I jes gave it ‘de once ovah’.
1915		Van Loan ‘On Account of a Lady’ in Taking the Count 127: I see her givin’ me the once-over a while ago.
1925		Wodehouse Carry on, Jeeves 130: The old boy came to lunch here to give me the once-over.
1926		Van Vechten Nigger Heaven 116: You’ll never drive us out of this house till we’ve given him the once over.
1930		J. Lait Put on the Spot 14: A pair of eyes gave you the once over, and if you belonged you came in.
1936		N. Marsh Death in Ecstasy 203: He gave it a polite once-over.
1941		V. Davis Phenomena in Crime 71: It was a waste of time giving the place a ‘once-over’.
1946		Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues 22: The girls sat there while johns (customers) moped around giving them the once-over.
1951		Cusack & James Come in Spinner (1960) 319: I’ll be hoppin’ up to give that place the once-over soon. I’ll probably look you up.
1953		S. Noel Few Die Well 74: ‘When do I get to the Plans Section?’ I asked him. ‘Along about Friday. But you give that just a once-over lightly. Remember?’.
1960		Wodehouse Jeeves in the Offing 58: My first emotion on giving it the once-over was one of relief.
1963		‘Geoffrey Tolhurst’ Flat 4 King’s Cross (1966) 28: We were getting the ‘once-over’ before the door was opened to admit us.
1964		R. Abrahams Deep Down In The Jungle 38: The baboon, too, gets a once-over.
1974		‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell Plays Solomon (1976) 7: Her blue eyes gave me the once-over.
1988		P. Califia Macho Sluts 34: She did not back away, just gave me a cold little once-over.
1997		A. Highcrest At Home on the Stroll 134: I gave myself the once-over in my bathroom mirror.
2006		G. Iles Turning Angel 412: What if he simply gives me a once-over and leaves again.
2010		(con. 1973) C. Stella Johnny Porno 86: Louis gave her the once-over as she adjusted one of her skates.
2018		C. Hammer Scrublands [ebook] [G]iving the Anzac statue a one-over.
2021		C. Hammer Opal Country 291: ‘They wanted to give him the once-over before [...] he could think his story through and lawyer up’.

2. a search, of a place or at customs.

1925		Black Mask Aug. III 113: I gave the place a once-over [...] and found a trap door, leading to the attic.
1928		J. O’Connor Broadway Racketeers 183: They came around to give the place the once over.
1951		D. Dressler Parole Chief 117: We frisked him, gave his flat the once over more than once.
1977		L. Heinemann Close Quarters (1987) 299: He pulled the once-over heavy and hard, looking for anything.
1990		Tupper & Wortley Aus. Prison Sl. Gloss. 🌐 Once over. A cursory cell or body search.

3. a quick treatment or superficial job, such as a quick clean-up.

1950		S. Towshend-Warner letter in Element of Lavishness 17: He was mildly annoyed that the desk was covered with grit, and nobody had thought to give it a once over with a feather duster.
1998		T. Blackstock Private Justice 261: And I’ll get the cleanin’ lady I use down there t’ go by and give it a once-over.
2007		R. Farooki Bitter Sweets 230: He’d call Ana, the local cleaning lady, to give it a once over.