heist, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

heist n.

(US Und.)

1. a robbery.

1933		Ersine Und. and Prison Sl.
1949		A. Hynd We Are the Public Enemies 50: Filling in his time on the outside with gas station heists.
1953		T. Runyon In For Life 36: A policeman stepped out [...] just as we finished a heist.
1960		C. Cooper Jr Syndicate (1998) 20: Horvat got hold of the plans for the bank heist.
1970		‘Red’ Rudensky Gonif 95: All had gone separate ways looking for the big heist.
1985		N. Pileggi Wiseguy (2001) 81: Burke invited Henry along on the heist.
1989		R.G. Barrett Boys from Binjiwunyawunya 302: Well, Mousey [...] It wasn’t a bad heist you pulled off.
1990		(con. early 1950s) J. Ellroy L.A. Confidential 9: A liquor store heist in Chinatown.
1999		D. Looser ‘Boob Jargon’ in NZEJ 13 32: heist n. A hold up, robbery.
2001		D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 86/1: heist n. an (armed) robbery, a hold-up.
2003		N. Green Angel of Montague Street (2004) 251: You know anything about an armored car heist?
2010		J. Ellroy Hilliker Curse 6: The heist went bad.
2015		G. Disher Heat [ebook] For all he knew, the Pepper brothers’ plan was foolproof: the junkie wouldn’t let them down, the heist would run smoothly.
2016		Vanity Fair 16 Mar. 🌐 Ain’t you caught them yet, the big heist?
2017		L. McInerney Blood Miracles : ‘You’re telling me that Dan staged a fucking heist’.
2023		A. Nette Orphan Road 39: ‘He was alleged to have helped launder part of the take from the heist’.

2. the site of a robbery or break-in.

1978

R. Caron Go-Boy! 64: The heist was a combination post office and grocery store.

heist artist (n.) (also heist guy) [-artist sfx/guy n.²]

(US) a robber, a ‘stick-up man’ .

1932		R.E. Burns (con. 1929) I Am a Fugitive 161: Hard-boiled Jack Martin, killer, heist guy, pete man and jail breaker extraordinary.
1933		Ersine Und. and Prison Sl. 44: heist guy, n. A stickup artist.
1940		R. Chandler Farewell, My Lovely (1949) 51: These are heist guys. They’re tough.
1949		W.R. Burnett Asphalt Jungle in Four Novels (1984) 133: They’re offering a [...] reward for the capture of this heist artist.
1953		W. Hopson ‘The Ice Man Came’ in Thrilling Detective Winter 🌐 The little heist artist had never forgiven me for kicking him off the show.
1958		R. Chandler Playback 137: One of the heist guys got dead.
1962		(con. 1953–7) L. Yablonsky Violent Gang (1967) 84: They were heist-guys and junkies and hustlers.
1981		H. Gould Fort Apache, The Bronx 7: Every heist guy knew there was no money in cop hangouts.
1991		in J. Breslin Damon Runyon (1992) 116: Two heist guys had walked into his card joint [...] and left him trussed up in a closet.

heist job (n.) (also hist job)

a robbery.

1936		(ref. to 1920s) L. Duncan Over the Wall 32: ‘I suppose they give guys medals for a heist job,’ I came back. He grinned.
1938		R. Chandler ‘Red Wind’ in Red Wind (1946) 35: A heist job.
1945		R.L. Bellem ‘Ruby Ransom’ Hollywood Detective Dec. 🌐 I also happen to savvy the way you generally handle jewelry heist jobs.
1951		D. Dressler Parole Chief 146: My brother’s after me to go on a hist job.

heist man (n.)

pull a heist (v.) (also pull a hyste)

(US Und.) to commit a robbery.

1952		(con. 1948) G. Mandel Flee the Angry Strangers 242: Like-he pulls a little hyste’n lives off it.
1973		E. Bunker No Beast So Fierce 209: For my view as well as Jerry’s it was best to pull a heist soon.
2000		C. Cook Robbers (2001) 16: I pulled more heists you can shake a stick at.

put the heist on (v.)

(US Und.) to steal.

1969

‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 110: Some louse put the heist on your ‘slum’.