Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a failure, an impossibility, that which cannot be done or happen.

1838		Crim.-Con. Gaz. 13 Oct. 64/1: At rehearsal Mr Franks was found ‘no go’.
1841		‘F.L.G’ Swell’s Night Guide K4: No Go A Failure.
1842		Dublin Morn. Register 19 Dec. 4/3: A new beak [...] said it should be ‘no go’.
1843		Satirist & Sporting Chron. (Sydney) 8 Apr. 3/2: Old ‘bob’ must not ‘come it so strong’ about being able to ‘come to the scratch’. It’s ‘no go’, Bob.
1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor I 388/2: I have tried with other things, and find it’s a no go.
1871		Hamilton Spectator (Vic.) 7 Jan. 1/7: But if he [i.e. a father] won't ‘prove game,’ and ‘fork out,’ then I am afraid ‘it’s no go,’ and he [i.e. an indebted son] must ‘skedaddle’.
1874		‘Old Calabar’ Won in a Canter II 21: ‘I am fully convinced that it [i.e. a courtship] is no go with her’.
1886		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 16 Jan. 7/2: ‘Arf the good lookin’ gals in the place ’as throwed theirselves at ’is ’ead. But it were hall no go’’ .
1901		‘Miles Franklin’ My Brilliant Career 183: I tried to get you off, but it was a no go.
1939		Goodman & Kolodin Kingdom of Swing 109: [T]his [show]was a turkey. [...] It had a couple of good people in it [...] but it was no go.
1999		G. Seal Lingo 93: no go is a hopeless cause.
2012		L. Berney Whiplash River [ebook] ‘It’s a no-go,’ she said [...] The only point would be pointless cruelty.