Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US, also gouge game) a swindle, a cheat.

1845		N.-Y. Trib. 10 Dec. n.p.: This is a clean plain gouge of this sum out of the people’s strong box [DA].
1849		W.C. Hall ‘Mike Hooter’s Fight with the “Bar”’ Spirit of the Times 10 Nov. (N.Y.) 452: I don’t vally a bar nor no other human crittur, so he comes at me in front, and don’t play gouge.
1859		Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (2nd edn).
1862		‘Artemus Ward’ Artemus Ward, His Book 49: I am sorry to inform you that the clerks tried to cum a Gouge Game on me.
1887		American XIV 334: Another ‘gouge’ was to charge the women a nominally cost price per spool for the thread furnished them [DA].
1917		O.O. McIntyre New York Day by Day 31 Jan. [synd. col.] The system is a gouge, for the customer is supposed to tip the [cigarette] girl.
1923		O.O. McIntyre ‘New York Day by Day’ 7 Oct. [synd. col.] New York is shortly to have the $2 movie [...] theater owners believe the public is willing to pay the higher gouge.
1957		J.D. MacDonald Price of Murder (1978) 178: It’s a big deal. It isn’t a gouge for a thousand or two.
2000		(con. 1940s–60s) Décharné Straight from the Fridge Dad.

2. swindling, cheating.

1924

O.O. McIntyre ‘New York Day by Day’ 22 Jan. [synd. col.] Cafes throw a smoke screen about the frauds in addition. In those where the gouge is heaviest their method is oblique.

3. see gouger n. (2)