Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. the Devil.

1821–5

‘Bill Truck’ Man o’ War’s Man (1843) 29: May the ould fellow receive you, ship’s corporals, boatswain’s mates [...] and all, into his own ugly bosom!

2. a man; also used as a term of address.

1818		A.N. Royall Letters from Alabama 6 Feb. 168: ‘Well, old fellow,’ said the Colonel, ‘how goes it;’ shaking hands cordially.
1825		C.M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I 136: I say, old fellow, where are you entered?
1848		Thackeray Vanity Fair I 319: How are you, old fellow?
1854		‘Cuthbert Bede’ Adventures of Mr Verdant Green (1982) II 228: I should advise you, old fellow, to get your sit-upons seated with wash-leather.
1860		Poughkeepsie Jrnl (NY) 5 May 1/5: The owld fellow worked away as busy as a nailer [sic].
1861		T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxford (1880) 34: He was the most good-natured man in the world [...] and called everybody ‘old fellow’.
1870		L. Oliphant Piccadilly 149: The free and easy ‘Frank, old fellow’ and ‘slap on the back’ style.
1879		G.R. Sims Dagonet Ballads 69: I’ve been dozin’, old fellow, I think.
1890		Bird o’ Freedom 1 Jan. 2/3: She calls her special friends ‘old fellow,’ or ‘Jones, old boy’.
1900		Boy’s Own Paper 29 Dec. 198: How about that grub, old fellow?
1908		L. Doyle Ballygullion (1927) 92: The ould fellow was heart miserable about money.
1926		Wood & Goddard Dict. Amer. Sl. 37: old. Used to convey affection, as in old bean, old boy, old chap, old dear, old fellow, old thing, old top.
1937		‘F. Bonnamy’ Death on a Dude Ranch (1953) 54: What’s the matter, Joe, old girl, old thing, old fella?
c.1940–5		‘Myles na gCopaleen’ Best of Myles (1968) 390: I’m supposed to be gettin’ orders for th’oul fella in Cork.
1962		R. Cook Crust on its Uppers 68: Don’t worry, old fellow.
1965		L. Dunne Goodbye to The Hill (1966) 39: I thought the oul’ fella was really in for it.

3. (UK und.) a judge.

1833

[T. Wontner] Old Bailey Experience 43: ‘I would take one [i.e. stroke of the whip] for each month, if the old fellow (the judge) would let me off the imprisonment’.

4. God.

1850		‘Ned Buntline’ G’hals of N.Y. 15: ‘Per-haps!’ rejoined Ralph, with an undisguised sneer. ‘The Ole Feller comes along this way very often – don’t he!’.
1908		L. Doyle Ballygullion 89: But sure enough the Ould Fellow himself was again Michael that day.

5. an object, a thing.

1872

G.P. Burnham Memoirs of the US Secret Service 130: [of a ten-dollar note] ‘It’s a counterfeit,’ said Rugg quietly [...] ‘A dead-beat old fellow. Not worth a penny.’.

6. (also old fulla) the penis.

c.1888		Stag Party 225: She [...] takes the old fellow / Again by the throat .
1963–74		B. Humphries Barry McKenzie [comic strip] in Complete Barry McKenzie (1988) 18: All that ice cold Fosters has gone straight to the old feller. I’m bustin’ for a nice long snakes!
1976		D. Ireland Glass Canoe (1982) 76: Despite his size, my old feller is surrounded by grey [hairs].
1985		B. Humphries Traveller’s Tool 118: A colleague of mine once went to the quack because he thought he’d copped a dose and the Doc asked him if his old fella burned after he’d had a naughty.
1992		A. Duff One Night Out Stealing 103: Grab her hand and shove it down on the old fulla [...] Feel that for a boner, babe.
1996		Penguin Bk of More Aus. Jokes 241: When he came to a barbed-wire fence he rested the gun on the top strand and proceeded to throw his leg over. The gun was dislodged and went off. His old fellow copped the lot.
2003		www.thepantsman.com 🌐 I got the call up from the old fella’ that it was time to leave Nadia and go for a slash outside the off-stump.
2014		Spectator 4 Oct. 12/1: The trousers are round the ankles and — ping! — here’s one of my old fella looking a bit sullen.
2017		T. Spicer Good Girl Stripped Bare 33: Some of the brothers are kind old fellas. But others rub their ‘old fellas’ against kids’ bums.
2024		J. Meades Empty Wigs (t/s) 208: [H]er degraded father [...] not so far gone in his cups that his old fella won’t stand to full attention.

7. one’s father; esp. Irish and often written as oul fella, to emphasize the Dublin pron.

1912		Bulletin (Sydney) 3 Oct. 15: Yes, I’m 72 ter-day, but I gotter good way ter go yet. The ole feller was 103 when ’e died, an’ mother’s 101 an’ still going strong.
1922		Joyce Ulysses 7: His old fellow made his tin by selling jalap to the Zulus or some such swindle.
1950		S. Murphy Stone Mad (1966) 185: What blinded me ould fella to put me at this drudgery first day?
1961		(con. 1930s) D. Behan Teems of Times and Happy Returns 1045: Yer oulwan’s a lavatory cleaner, / Yer oulfella’s terrible mean. / They sit in the pub drinkin’ porter, / Yer washin’ has never been clean.
1979		H. Leonard A Life (1981) Act II: You’re as cracked as your oul’ fella was.
1985		T. Murphy Conversations on a Homecoming (1986) 32: Not bad he says and the few quid a week my auld fella gives me.
1993		(con. 1945) S. McAughtry Touch and Go 159: My oul fella, stingy oul bastard, made me wear things until I was busting out of them.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 261: Don’t be tellin your old fella what we’re up to here.
2019		A. Killilea Boyo-wulf at https://boyowulf.home.blog 24 Mar. 🌐 And bloody right that a young lad [...] pay his way while under his auld fella’s roof.

8. a husband.

1980

J. McClure Spike Island (1981) 278: And when she shuts up eventually he just said, ‘Yer old fella’s dead.’.