Green’s Dictionary of Slang

friendly, affectionate.

1896		M. Williams Round London 127: I was at Eton with Lord Bythesea [...] and, as boys say, we were very ‘pallish’.
1905		A. Binstead Mop Fair 91: The man seemed inclined to get too pally.
1908		Bulletin (Sydney) 10 Dec. 20/3: ‘This is about the rummiest go ever I struck. To fancy me and you bein’ pally with a John! Wonders will never cease.’.
1908		Leigh & Powell [perf. Marie Lloyd] Rum-tiddley-um-tum-tay! 🎵 All day from the start / Till we had to part / We were merry, bright and ‘pally’.
1910		Bulletin (Sydney) 20 Oct. 16/1: ‘Stow the ‘Mister’’ said O’Malley, / Mad as anything; / ‘Even though we be not pally, / Always call me ‘King.’’.
1918		Kia Ora Coo-ee 15 Sept. 6/1: I’m pally with him, and he showed me the letter he wrote to Lavinia.
1929		(con. 1916) F. Manning Her Privates We (1986) 57: Knock some of the swank out of that bloody regimental you’re so pally with.
1935		C. Drew ‘Buckled’ in Bulletin 29 May 48/3: He got real pally with us, and kept us posted as to how Smiles, the local champ., was pro- gressing in his trainin’.
1938		D. Runyon ‘Little Miss Marker’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 301: We are about as pally with Sorrowful as a burglar with a copper.
1946		D. Stivens Courtship of Uncle Henry 71: I poked my finger into the cage, talked to it, whistled and tried to get pally but it was no go.
1959		A. Zugsmith Beat Generation 74: She’d made an effort to be pally with Harry’s raft of sisters.
1969		M. Puzo Godfather 419: It was intended as a friendly pally-uncle warning, not really as a threat.
1977		J. Rosenthal Spend, Spend, Spend Scene 29: If Keith lived with his grandma, first thing on the agenda was to get pally with the grandma, wasn’t it?
1986		R. Campbell In La-La Land We Trust (1999) 29: Don’t get pally with the police.
1999		Indep. Rev. 10 July 8: Sergio Beria was pretty pally with the Stalins.
2004		P. Howard PS, I Scored the Bridesmaids 112: Just because I haven’t told you to shut the fock up doesn’t mean you can stort getting pally-wally with me.
2011		J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 387: You seem very pally with Miguel.
2018		I. Welsh Dead Man’s Trousers 33: Did I tell you that I’m pally with Frank Begbie again?