Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. in pl., handcuffs or similar restraints.

1881		‘Bill Nye’ Bill Nye and Boomerang 206: I [...] hear the rattle of the cast iron ‘come-alongs.’.
1901		C.R. Wooldridge Hands Up! 380: Before he came to his senses the detective had secured the razor and had the handcuffs, or, as they are called in police parlance, ‘come-alongs,’ on his wrists.
1917		A.G. Empey Over the Top 246: Then we had what we called our ‘come-alongs.’ These are strands of barbed wire about three feet long, made into a noose at one end; at the other end, the barbs are cut off and Tommy slips his wrist through a loop to get a good grip on the wire.
1930		C.L. Edholm ‘Gorilla Girl’ in Gun Molls Oct. 🌐 Smoke Gattler felt the come-alongs clipped to his wrists.
1939		Howsley Argot: Dict. of Und. Sl.
1944		D. Runyon Runyon à la Carte 71: They are more interested in getting the come-alongs on Rudolph’s wrists.
1973		E. Droge Patrolman 25: Sets of chains known as ‘come-alongs,’ that, when wrapped around the wrists and squeezed, induce arrestees to ‘come along’ peacefully.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 12: Plus belt saps, handcuffs and come-along restraints.

2. (US Und., also pullers) a tool used to pull the lock out of a safe.

1924		G. Henderson Keys to Crookdom 401: Come-along. Device for pulling a lock out by the roots.
1926		‘Und. and Its Vernacular’ in Clues mag. 158–62: come-along. Small, case-hardened device with a V-shaped opening near its center, which is slipped over the combination of a safe, then tightened up with set screws to pull the comb.
1929		C.G. Givens ‘Chatter of Guns’ in Sat. Eve. Post 13 Apr.; list extracted in AS VI:2 (1930) 132: come-along, n. Instrument for dragging out a combination. [Ibid.] 134: pullers, n. Cf. come-along.
1931		Hammett Glass Key 485: ‘[T]his wholesale thing is too much like using a cyclone shot to blow off a safe-door when you could get it off without any fuss by using a come-along’.
1936		(ref. to 1920s) L. Duncan Over the Wall 167: I had been forced to leave my ‘Come-along’ and other tools beside the open pete.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).

3. (US) a ‘hostess’ employed by a nightclub to persuade customers to part with their money.

1938

M. Rand ‘Clip-Joint Chisellers’ in Ten Story Gang Aug. 🌐 Marge and Dot were two of a score of come-alongs that steered and decoyed for the spot.

4. (US police) constr. with hold, a means of inducing physical compliance by a painful bending of the wrist.

1974		H.L. Foster Playin’ the Dozens 322: The learning and practice of techniques of nonpunitively intervening physically with a youngster's out-of-control aggressive surface behavior took place [...] techniques such as: [...] How to use a ‘come along’ to remove a child.
2004		J.A. Juarez Brotherhood of Corruption 150: Without causing too much a commotion, they’d use the come-along hold an’ take him down the gangway.