Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a shop; thus ann-chovey and man-chovey, the female and male shop assistant.

1791		in B.M. Carew Life .
1839		H. Brandon Dict. of the Flash or Cant Lang. 162/1: Chovey – a shop.
1857		J. Archbold Magistrate’s Assistant (2nd edn) 444: A shop – Chovey.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1881		Newcastle Courant 9 Sept. 6/5: When we enter the chovey and dub the jigger, slour us in and remain dark until you hear a cat mew.
1882		Sydney Sl. Dict. 10/2: I frisked a lushy yokel who was snoozing in the Park and found a thimble and no slang and a caser. He had a dummie, but no flimsies in it only some chovey stiffs.
1895		Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 17: Chovey, a shop.
1904		Sun (NY) 10 July 29/4: Here is a genuine letter written in thieves’ slang, recently found by the English police [...] I gave a skister’s red thimble and slang and a cat to my mollisker stalling while we cracked the fakir’s chovey.

2. (UK Und.) a cart.

1833

H. Smith Gale Middleton 1 161: ‘It’s the drag cove’ [...] ‘I hope he can get the chovey up Dunghill-lane’.