Green’s Dictionary of Slang

see separate entry.

see separate entries.

a diamond.

1939		J. Weidman What’s In It For Me? 108: So long as those are my ice-cubes that are decorating your wrist.
1966		M. Rumaker Exit 3 and Other Stories 102: Hey-o-ley, where’d you get the icecubes?
2001		Master P ‘Rock It’ 🎵 Ice cube on my finger, 10 carats.
2016		Aesop Rock ‘Syrup’ 🎵 I got a phantom pocket full of ice cubes.

1. see icebox n. (2)

2. (US Und.) a jewellery store.

1936		Mencken Amer. Lang. (4th edn) 579: In the East a jewelry-store is a slum-joint, whereas in the West it is an ice-house.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 106/1: Ice-house. (Scattered areas U. S.) A jewelry store.
1966		B. Jackson Get Your Ass in the Water (1974) 56: Old Ice-house Jim, that motherfucker was glad.

see separate entry.

1. (US Und.) an upmarket saloon or brothel.

1927		‘Jargon of the Und.’ in DN V 451: Ice palace, A high class brothel.
1931		Irwin Amer. Tramp and Und. Sl. 106: Ice Palace. – A high-class saloon or brothel, so called from the many mirrors and cut-glass chandeliers found in these resorts.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl.

2. (US black) a jewellery store.

1944		‘Jiver’s Bible’ in D. Burley Orig. Hbk of Harlem Jive.
1957		El Paso Herald (TX) 3 Oct. 17/4: A few examples of [...] ‘calo’ [...] ice palace (jewelry store).

(US campus) a phr. used to describe how well prepared one is for an examination or test.

1900

E.H. Babbitt ‘College Words and Phrases’ in DN II:i 42: ice, n. In phrase ‘as thick ice’ perfectly prepared, as in recitation.

(US) to give someone a cool reception.

1903		‘Hugh McHugh’ Out for the Coin 77: I was trying to cook up a chance to hand a line of talk to de main Stake, but old Santa Claus gave me de ice.
1923		H.C. Witwer Fighting Blood 314: When I meet him on the street a couple of days afterward he gives me the ice.
1945		Look (ad for Kreml hair tonic) 18 Sept. 73: No wonder girls ‘turn on the ice’ when he asks for a date.
1953		K. Tennant Joyful Condemned 292: A drunken sailor was trying to be friendly but the other passengers gave him the ice.
1963		in T.I. Rubin Sweet Daddy 12: Some of the lousy crumbs [...] turn on the ice – like I’m not there.
1968		K. Brasselle Cannibals 205: I gave him the ice.

(Aus., also icy cold) a measure of chilled beer.

1957		C. Landon [bk title] Ice Cold in Alex.
1968		B. Humphries Wonderful World of Barry McKenzie 28: Once you’ve wrapped yourself around a few ice colds you’ll feel as though all your birthdays have come at once!
1972		J. O’Grady It’s Your Shout, Mate! 34: ‘There’s nothing better than a glass of the old icy cold before breakfast’.
1979		Sun-Herald (Sydney) 4 Nov. 178/2: And by November next year, God and the union willing, they’ll be sipping ice-colds in Alice.
1983		A. Skelton Bill’s Break 173: ‘Few ice-colds aren’t bad on their own, either’.
1986		B. Hudson First Aus. Dict. Vulgarities & Obscenities n.p.: Icy cold. A can of beer.

(US black) to wear diamond jewelry, a diamond-adorned watch, etc.

2014		Young Jeezy ‘Black Eskimo’ 🎵 Nigga you icing out your wrist or what? / [...] / Bitch that Hublot looking like a Heisman.
2020		G. Krauze What They Was 21: Rob, shoot, trap, spend the profits on [...] an iced-out Rolex .

1. (orig. US) in reserve.

1871		C.G. Leland Breitmann’s Ballads 59: Und de vay dese Deutschers vent to vork vos von pig ding on ice.
1894		P.L. Ford Hon. Peter Stirling 2007 406: They say she’s never been able to find a man good enough for her, and so she’s keeping herself on ice till she dies, in hopes that she’ll find one in heaven .
1926		Wood & Goddard Dict. Amer. Sl.
1939		Howsley Argot: Dict. of Und. Sl.
1962		K. Orvis Damned and Destroyed 9: A man who takes pleasure in being called crime-buster – promises without delay to put vice on ice in Montreal.
1984		‘Derek Raymond’ He Died with His Eyes Open 108: I’m keeping you on ice, Eric.
1999		Indep. 24 July 6: Those expectations were seemingly being put on ice.

2. certain, definite, a foregone conclusion, esp. of a sporting contest.

1890		A.C. Gunter Miss Nobody of Nowhere 231: Prominently posted up by a wag [...] is a notice: FOR ELECTION. Gussie de P. Van Beekman, vice Baron Bassington, of Harrowby Castle, England. ON ICE!
1932		J.L. Kuethe ‘Johns Hopkins Jargon’ in AS VII:5 334: on ice — to be settled as to the outcome. (To have a game on ice is to be certain of winning.).
1933		‘Paul Cain’ Fast One (1936) 78: You put twenty-five thousand dollars in cash on the line and you get enough to put the election on ice.
1939		C. Himes ‘A Modern Fable’ in Coll. Stories (1990) 415: To put it on ice, however, his addresses were sugar-coated with a hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of tried and true campaigning.
1945		Chicago Daily News 4 Oct. 12/1: They started in and accumulated enough runs in the first inning to put the game on ice [DA].

3. (US Und.) in prison, under arrest.

1881		N.Y. Times 13 Apr. 1/7: Dr Hayes’s name was received with derisive cries of [...] ‘Put him on ice’.
1900		Greensboro Telegram (NC) 5 June 1/2: The name of Mayor Van Wyck was hissed, and the cries of ‘put him on ice, put him once ice’.
1931		Sat. Rev. Lit. (US) 18 July 978/2: Among the words and phrases common among racketeers, not yet in general use..there are the following: [...] on ice, in the penitentiary [OED].
1933		Ersine Und. and Prison Sl.
1936		R. Chandler ‘Guns At Cyrano’s’ in Red Wind (1946) 227: Are they keeping Targo on ice?
1950		B. Spicer Blues for the Prince (1989) 204: We want to keep Magee on ice but we can’t do it for long without a good strong charge.
1965		C. Himes Cotton Comes to Harlem (1967) 41: I’m sending over a man to keep her on ice.
1977		J. Sayles Union Dues (1978) 201: He used to come over there to Roslindale, the detention center, when I was on ice.
1992		Bentley & Corbett Prison Sl. 28: On Ice In prison. (Archaic: inside).
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 16: On ice — In jail.
2008		R. Price Lush Life 11: An hour later, with the kid on ice back at the Eighth [precinct] [...] they were out again.
2022		J. Hannaham Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit 20: Enough drama to keep her on ice until she hit the half-century mark.

4. (orig. US) out of the way; in storage.

1902		Reading Times (PA) 4 Nov. 7/4: ‘The nigger [...] He’s in the closet’ [...] Dolefulness, bound and gagged, tumbled to the floor. [...] ‘The nigger got kind of gay [...] and I just put him on ice’.
1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 75/2: She chucked me a shoulder, an’ not the one I want — an’ ’av been on hice ever the mortal since.
1938		R. Chandler ‘The King in Yellow’ in Spanish Blood (1946) 49: ‘Wrap it up!’ he snapped. ‘Can it. Put it on ice. Take it away and bury it. The show’s out. Scram, now — scram!’.
1949		Wodehouse Mating Season 108: Don’t tell me that a girl like Corky [...] couldn’t put Gussie on ice.
1959		E. De Roo Young Wolves 132: I’ll keep ’em on ice for ya till tomorrow. Guess they won’t spoil.
1974		G.V. Higgins Cogan’s Trade (1975) 36: They got him on ice somewhere, they’re feeding him steaks [...] and talking to him.
1990		(con. early 1950s) J. Ellroy L.A. Confidential 371: I could trust you, not them, it’s all on ice but not for us.
2001		J. Stahl Plainclothes Naked (2002) 135: So you went and got a new phone? That’s good. [...] ’Cause I’ve got your old on ice.

5. (orig. US) dead.

1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 187/2: On ice (Amer.-Eng.). Dead. From placing body on ice to aid in ‘faking it’.
1969		D. Pendleton Executioner (1973) 55: Let’s sew this guy up good and get him on ice.

6. (US Und.) of stolen goods, waiting to be sold.

1933

‘Goat’ Laven Rough Stuff 197: I told him I had about fifty grand on ice, that is ready to sell.

7. (orig. US) in hiding, esp. from the police.

1937		Sat. Eve. Post 22 May 34: When a criminal goes into hiding, he is said to be ‘on ice’.
1958		(con. 1890s) S.H. Adams Tenderloin 275: Willie Frye and his side-kick may have put him on ice somewhere.
1972		G.V. Higgins Friends of Eddie Coyle 107: I been on ice once or twice, but never as nice as this.

8. (orig. US) in secret, on the quiet.

1952

(con. 1948) G. Mandel Flee the Angry Strangers 131: Nah, this is on ice; no visitors allowed.

9. (US Und.) suffering confinement in a punishment cell.

1950

Goldin et al. DAUL 106/1: Ice, on. [...] 2. (P) In punishment cells, usually on reduced rations of bread and water.

10. in protective custody.

1990

M. McAlary Crack War (1991) 198: The cops had offered to put her on ice, but the streetwalker had protested. ‘I’m safest in the streets.’.

(US) to the greatest extent, to the limit.

1861		N.E. Police Gaz. (Boston, MA) 5 Oct. 7/1: It was a big thing on ice, but you must be careful girls, or you may get the worst of it.
1958		H. Ellison Deadly Streets (1983) 18: It stinks. On ice.
1961		H. Ellison Rockabilly (1963) 95: You stink, kid. You stink on ice!

to criticize, to look down on.

1938

D. Runyon ‘The Big Umbrella’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 557: Miss Margie Grogan continues to play plenty of ice for him.

1. (orig. US) of a person, to hide away, to keep out of the limelight until required, e.g. a witness, the ‘star’ of a newspaper exclusive etc.

1900		Ade More Fables in Sl. (1960) 132: They took the High School Oration and put it on the ice.
1953		‘William Lee’ Junkie (1966) 103: We’ll take them over to the third precinct and put them on ice.

2. of a project, idea etc, to put aside for later development or use.

1900		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 26 May 3/1: She knows a thing or two which will keep, though, without being put on ice, and what she knows will prove a source of income some time or other.
1910		W. Mason Uncle Walt 186: Take up your letter and read it through thrice; put it on ice awhile, put it on ice!
1914		Bulletin (Sydney) 3 Sept. 22/4: The rest [of the story] was put on the ice. – Ed. B.
1917		Van Loan ‘The Last Chance’ in Old Man Curry 107: Put him on ice until to-morrow – This is my busy day.
1938		J. Weidman I Can Get It For You Wholesale 3: Come on [...] put it on ice for a while. It’ll keep.
1965		New Statesman 14 May 771/2: Presumably the book, finished in 1957, was put on ice.
1966		J. Holledge Great Aust. Gamble 82: ‘The others are on the ice,’ it was now his turn to whisper.

3. (US campus) to forget deliberately.

1932

J.L. Kuethe ‘Johns Hopkins Jargon’ in AS VII:5 335: put it on the ice — ‘forget about it.’ To intentionally forget about something, usually a debt.

4. (orig. US) to maintain a distant, minimally emotional relationship.

1949

Wodehouse Mating Season 132: She would lose no time in choking Gussie off and putting him on the ice.

5. (also pack on ice) to kill, to murder; to knock out.

1929		C. Coe Hooch! 240: What a sap I’d be to cross you! [...] You got the stuff to pack me on ice forever.
1933		C.G. Booth ‘Stag Party’ in Penzler Pulp Fiction (2006) 109: I thought I’d put you lads on ice.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
a.1964		‘Bill Skinner’ in D. Wepman et al. Life (1976) 133: Now he’ll play no more cards nor shoot any dice, / For the first and last bet he lost put him on ice.
1977		E. Torres Q&A 166: What stupid Brennan don’t know is, once I’m knocked off, Quinn will put him on ice.
1983		C. Heath A-Team 2 (1984) 15: The boxer winked and boasted, ‘Well [...] Lemme just show ya the razzle-dazzle I used ta put ’im on ice...’.

6. (US) to imprison.

1939		V. Davis Gentlemen of the Broad Arrows 164: Your English cops put us on ice.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1988		(con. 1940s) C. Bram Hold Tight (1990) 67: They put my sweet ass on ice. Jail.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 365: You mean if you turn state against Baby Jewels, they’ll put his fat ass on ice?

(Aus.) an iceman.

1959

in D. Niland Big Smoke.

an ice-cream salesman.

1923

J. Manchon Le Slang.

(US gay) an act of fellatio in which the fellator has ice cubes in his/her mouth.

1972

B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 34: ice job (late ’60s) sucking with ice cubes or ice cream in the mouth.

1. (US) a slow-moving person or vehicle; thus wagonish adj., slow-moving.

1896		W.C. Gore Student Sl. in Cohen (1997) 14: ice-wagon, to be an To be slow in an extreme degree. A student calls to a companion for whom he is waiting, ‘Come, don’t be an ice-wagon’.
1908		N.-Y. American 30 Apr. in Fleming Unforgettable Season (1981) 57: McGraw made some slurring remark about McGann being an ice wagon.
1908		N.Y. Eve. Journal 19 June in Fleming Unforgettable Season (1981) 99: Doyle appeared to be a bit too wagonish in cavorting from second.
1912		Van Loan ‘McCluskey’s Prodigal’ in Ten-Thousand-Dollar Arm 255: Whenever the ‘old ice wagon’ went into the box, the home rooters sat back.

2. a sexually indifferent woman.

1949

Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn) 127: ice wagon An unresponsive or cold woman; a hearse.

3. a hearse.

1949

Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn) 127: ice wagon [...] a hearse.

4. see water wagon n.