map, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

map n.

[? predating in J. Taylor, ‘The Water Poet’, Works (1630): ‘Being willing to take slender acquaintance of any map whatsoever, viewing, and circumviewing every man’s face I met’]

1. the human face.

1900		A.H. Lewis ‘Mulberry Mary’ in Sandburrs 9: I sees d’ map of a skirt – a goil, I means.
1910		O. Johnson Varmint 330: Don’t give that away; she’d bite and scratch me all over the map for telling.
1924		H.L. Wilson Professor How Could You! 321: The expression of bewilderment on his bum map was ludicrous.
1935		(con. 1920s) J.T. Farrell Judgement Day in Studs Lonigan (1936) 642: Officer McGoorty had dumbness written pretty plainly all over his map.
1945		R.L. Bellem ‘Coffin for a Coward’ in Hollywood Detective Dec. 🌐 Now it was her beautiful map that was falling apart. Her crimson kisser hung slack, her glimmers bulged like squeezed grapes and her complexion was floury.
1953		L. Durst Jives of Dr. Hepcat (1989) 9: Honey, my ticker jumps off time whenever you cruise on deck, because your togs naturally climbs your frame, and your map is the road of paradise.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 157: You gotta’ stop that grinning. Freeze your ‘map’ and keep it that way.
1971		Wodehouse Much Obliged, Jeeves 71: Not a ripple appeared on the stern and rockbound coast of her map.
1989		J. Morton Lowspeak.
2009		L. McIlvanney All the Colours 32: [C]heeky-boy grins on their chib-marked maps.

2. the mouth.

1920

F. Packard White Moll 19: Youse’re straight, an’ [...] youse’ve kept yer map closed.

3. (US Und.) a bank cheque, usu. a fraudulent one.

1926		J.J. Finerty Criminalese.
1935		Sun (N.Y.) 19 Feb. 28/1: Checks are ’maps’.
1956		‘Toney Betts’ Across the Board 317: He gave me a bum map.
1967		J. Breslin World of Jimmy Breslin (1968) 117: A transit item [i.e. a cheque] returned unpaid is known as a ‘bum map’ or a ‘frog.’.

4. (N.Z. prison) one’s prison record.

2001

D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 113/2: map n. a criminal record.

SE in slang uses

In phrases

off the map (adv.)

(Aus.) (orig. horseracing) unreservedly, to the full extent.

1924		Sydney Sportsman 20 May 2/3: The big long-bodied Tressady gelding. Dunclutha [...] was backed off the map, starting at evens In a big field.
1930		Aus. Worker 22 Jan. 9/3: There can be no doubt, as to the very big reversal in form, as shown by Vaals’ later performance as compared with that at Randwick, when it was backed ‘almost off the map,’ as the lads say.
1940		Nat. Advocate (Bathurst, NSW) 3 June 4/6: A big plunge went astray on Happy Ned [...] who was backed off the map to 5.4 on, to be beaten by the Blayney dog.
1950		F. Hardy Power without Glory 141: All right, I’ll risk it. [...] I'll back you off the map.
1975		Hardy & Mulley Needy and the Greedy 16: A horse called Coffee was backed off the map.
1988		C. Galea Slipper 66: They waited a fortnight and at Canterbury in a far stronger field, they backed the beaten horse off the map.

throw a map (v.) [the supposed similarity of a pool of vomit to a map of Australia]

(Aus.) to vomit.

1943

Baker Popular Dict. Aus. Sl. (2nd edn).

1945		Baker Aus. Lang.
1955		N. Pulliam I Travelled a Lonely Land (1957) 240/2: throw a map – to vomit.
1999		G. Seal Lingo 135: As over-indulgence in alcoholic beverages may induce vomiting, the Lingo is well stocked with terms for this, including [...] throw a map.