Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to ruin.

1797		‘T.B. Junr.’ Pettyfogger Dramatized II i: I must do up Old Crazy, the landlord, and his neighbour. I’ve been giving them papp for some time. [Ibid.] 108: Do Up. To ruin.
1822		Caledonian Mercury 31 Oct. 4/1: The Bury Street concern [i.e. a casino] was ‘done up’ because a Lieutenant Campbell was refused admission.
1836		Chester Chron 30 Dec. 4/1: A Yankee malcontent [...] This here coal is doing us up .
1887		Cincinnati Enquirer (OH) 24 Dec. 12/5: ‘When a fellow tries to throw the blame on me I “do” him, and if a fellow blew on me, I’d get up in the dock and I’d swear to all I knew about him and do him up for good.

2. to rob, to cheat.

1848		‘Ned Buntline’ Mysteries and Miseries of N.Y. II 11: Pat [...] hasn’t the heart to quite ruin a poor devil like Charley, but they’ll do him up in the other place.
1884		Caldwell Journal 16 Oct. in Miller & Snell Why the West was Wild 515: A pair of very ‘fly’ Chicago drummers came down last week bent on doing the ‘boys’ up and painting the town red.
1890		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 1 Mar. 3/2: ‘I have done the old man up fine, and don’t you forget it’.
1893		M. Philips Newspaper 76: I am working the gold-brick game [...] I can tell you at least how we did up an old cockatoo here to-day for seventeen thousand dollars.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 15 July 7/3: Garrotting is by no means a dead industry in Sydney. Every now and then the good old grip is put on, and a citizen gets done up for his stuff, as well as badly hurt.
1903		A.H. Lewis Boss 168: If anything as big as a bank should get done up, why then, you send in your resignation.
1911		Eve. Teleg. (Dundee) 4 Dec. 1/5: [headline] Harry Lauder is ‘Done Up’ In Deal with Yankee Broker who Absconds.
1914		M. Glass Potash And Perlmutter 4: That feller done him up to the tune of ten thousand dollars.
1937–84		Partridge DSUE (1984) 319/2: from ca. 1780.
1983		J. Sullivan ‘Healthy Competition’ Only Fools and Horses [TV script] Yeah, we could take ’em out in the sticks and do them old carrot crunchers up.

3. to exhaust, to tire out.

1784		J. O’Keeffe Fontainebleau in Dramatic Works (1798) II 241: Here comes Tallyho, – yes Casey’s Burgundy has quite done him up.
1792		Sporting Mag. Nov. I 72/2: I never flich upon duty, so long as I can keep my post; but six or seven bottles to my own shares generally does me up.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1920		S. Lewis Main Street (1921) 384: This contact with righteousness has about done me up!

4. of people, to beat up; of objects, to smash; quote 1955 refers to a razor slashing.

1819		‘One of the Fancy’ Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress 24: In short, not to dwell on each facer and fall, / Poor georgy was done up in no time at all.
1887		G. Devol Forty Years a Gambler 46: At it we went, and the result was I did him up.
1889		Dead Bird (Sydney) 9 Nov. 7/3: ‘Have you ever read Sully’s Psychology?’ [...] ‘No, but I think I shall [...] since he did up Kilrain in such great shape!’.
1890		Dead Bird (Sydney) 15 Nov. 6/1: [headline] Griffo Does Up Moran / The Champion Still on Top / He Proves Himself a Wonder.
1891		J.A. Riis How the Other Half Lives 218: A successful raid on the grocer’s till is a good mark, ‘doing up’ a policeman cause for promotion.
1895		J.S. Wood Yale Yarns 87: Shell we bounce him, sir? [...] Shell we do ’im up as he ’d oughter be did up fer a tryin’ fer ter bust de meetin’?
1896		Mirror of Life 14 Mar. 3/2: Poor unfortunate, half-trained, purblind Peter Maher was done up in jig time by ‘Lanky Bob’ [Fitzsimmons].
1899		A. Binstead Houndsditch Day by Day 75: The boys had determined to celebrate a comrade’s birthday that very night by ‘doing up’ the Empire.
1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 14 Apr. 11/3: Re the murderous overworking of Sydney ’bus-horses, it is significant that, whereas the London ’bus-horse averages five working-years, one year is enough to do-up the miserable moke of Sydney.
1903		E.W. Townsend Sure 100: Ain't you de leader of a gang dat has done up more men dan any odder gang from Cherry Hill to Foist Street? Didn't de police inspector say [...] you was de hardest proposition on de East Side?
1913		J. London Valley of the Moon (1914) 287: I was just thinkin’ [...] of them mutts doin’ me up--me, that’s done up more scabs than I can remember.
1950		‘Hal Ellson’ Tomboy (1952) 103: I did him up good.
1955		B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 155: Once you’ve been done-up you needn’t call again. The bloke who does you up is the new guv’nor.
1960		N. Hilliard Maori Girl 62: They had to do him up a bit.
1968		J. Barlow Burden of Proof 134: They did a Bunny girl up for blackmailing.
1979		E. Torres After Hours 24: Nigger-bitch be playin’ with me. Ah’m go do her up one time.
1986		J. Sullivan ‘From Prussia With Love’ Only Fools and Horses [TV script] Sit down Marlene, you’re doing the Wilton up!
2000		W.D. Myers ‘Monkeyman’ in 145th Street 78: It got around in the cafeteria that Clean was going to do up Monkeyman.

5. to deal with.

1818		Salisbury & Winchester Jrnl 8 June 3: All the folks in Lunnun was laughing in their sleeves at the Wiltshire Johnny Raws getting jockied at that rate by Wellesley, as was know’d to be done up clear and clean.
1848		‘Ned Buntline’ Mysteries and Miseries of N.Y. II 66: We can make a swag of at least a couple of hundred thousand, if it is done up right!
1887		Lantern (N.O.) 15 Jan. 4: That Louis Dejan is a brick and knows just how to do things up bang.
1894		Mirror of Life 17 Feb. 3/2: [headline] [of a barber’s customer] he was done up quick.
1903		A.H. Lewis Boss 154: You go in an’ do up th’ Chief. When he’s rubbed out, I intend to be Chief in his place.
1937		‘F. Bonnamy’ Death on a Dude Ranch (1953) 80: They do up any small time mobster better than that.

6. to cause trouble for.

1885		Ledger (Noblesville, IN) 14 Aug. 6/2: ‘Have they got you dead-to-rights?’ ‘No; they may do me up on my “rep” pretty hard’.
1894		S. Crane in N.Y. Press Nov. in Stallman (1966) 104: Hully chee! / Who are we? / The men who did up Tammanee!
1906		‘O. Henry’ ‘The Love-Philtre of Ikey Schoenstein’ in Four Million (1915) 121: I have many times told you those Dagoes would do you up.
1931		A. Bontemps God Sends Sun. 33: They is doin’-up niggers right an’ lef’ an’ nobody says boo.
1944		L. Glassop We Were the Rats 151: These bastards might do us up at any moment.
1970		G.F. Newman Sir, You Bastard 58: If he gets flash, do him up with the insurance adjusters.
1989		P. Munro Sl. U. 70: When I saw that evil look in his eye, I knew he was going to try to do me up.

7. to unnerve.

1895

J. London ‘And ’Frisco Kid Came Back’ in High School Aegis X 4 Nov. 2–4: Dere wuz a cross-eyed man [...] Dat done me all up. I was clean off me nut wid de hoodoo.

8. (Aus.) to squander all one’s money.

1894		Bulletin (Sydney) 20 Jan. 24/1: He could do his cheque up quicker than was ever done before.
1904		Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 19 Oct. 8/7: When you haven't picked the Cup / And you've done your ‘sugar’ up / On a prad that finished somewhere in the rear.

9. to kill.

1900		A.H. Lewis ‘Red Mike’ in Sandburrs 57: She was as good a kid, this little Emmer which Mike does up, as ever comes down d’ Bend.
1918		B. Hall ‘En l’air!’ 176: Captain Boelke [...] was killed in 1916 by running into another German machine. They were both done up .
1967		M. Braly On the Yard (2002) 153: ‘Mom was clean.’ ‘Clean out of her skull. Otherwise she’d have done you up as soon as she dropped you.’.

10. (US black) to have sexual intercourse.

1959		M. Zane Easy Living 89: I figure, give her a couple days rest and then do her up right, you dig?
1977		Fidrych & Clark No Big Deal 33: Yeah, I’m just ready to do up my wife, and all of a sudden the phone rings!
1987		Eble Campus Sl. Spring 3: do her up – have sex with.

11. in drug uses.