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Green’s Dictionary of Slang

L n.

[abbr.]

1. (US) a $50 banknote [Roman numeral L, 50].

1837		N.Y. Herald 9 May 2/3: V’s, X’s, L’s, and C’s of the Dry Dock Bank.
1839		Spirit of the Times (N.Y.) 13 Apr. 66/3: I had no idea of betting more than an ‘L’ or ‘C’ [DA].
1845		St Louis (MO) Reveille 2 May 2/1: ‘You are as lucky as a jailor,’ I remarked, as my friend began to smooth down the V’s, X’s, L’s and C’s [DA].

2. (US prison) a life sentence.

1888		R. Barnett Police Sergeant C 21 236: The letter ‘L,’ signifying that he is a convict for life, may probably be stamped upon the badge carried by prisoners on their sleeves.
2000		Other Side of the Wall: Prisoner’s Dict. July 🌐 L: Life. As in ‘25 to L.’.

3. in drug uses.

(a) (US) LSD.

1969		R.R. Lingeman Drugs from A to Z (1970) 138: L lsd-25.
1971		E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).

(b) (also el) a marijuana cigarette [abbr. locoweed n.].

1992		7Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics ‘Day in the Life’ 🎵 Cause I found a fat l.
1995		L. Stavsky et al. A2Z.
1997–2000		College Sl. Research Project (Cal. State Poly. Uni., Pomona) 🌐 El (noun) A marajuana cigarette.
2002		‘Touré’ Portable Promised Land (ms.) 157: We Words (My Favorite Things) [...] An L. The DL. The O.G. Make G’s.
2010		A. Steinberg Running the Books 83: You want to smoke an ‘L’ with me?
2013		Jay-Z ‘Part II (On the Run)’ 🎵 Just sneak out and meet me, bring a box of L’s.

4. see el n.¹