Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a tradesman’s tout.

c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Kidder c. see Crocker [i.e. ‘Forestaller’].
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1932		F. Jennings Tramping with Tramps 153: In every town in the country there are self-styled tradesmen who will readily employ a ‘kidder’ to ‘buy’ their goods and thus stimulate others into buying.

2. a teaser, a joker, a hoaxer; thus ext. as (Aus.) kidder from Kiddervile.

1888		Sporting Life 15 Dec. n.p.: Ask Mr. Baldock... to whom I allude, and he will probably reply the champion kidder [F&H].
1895		Coburg Leader (Vic.) 13 July 1/6: Squire and Pev. are the best pair of kidders ever seen.
1899		W.J. Kountz Billy Baxter’s Letters 4: Teddy handed me a few of his kind little remarks, and I got back at him with something personal. [...] No thoroughbred kidder would have grown personal, but I couldn’t think of anything else at the time.
1900		Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 28 Nov. 1/3: Kelly, the man mixed up with a mare called Avis, is a kidder, and recently he copped.
1902		‘Hugh McHugh’ It’s Up to You 57: These three ducks are the worst kidders that ever caromed over a campus.
1910		‘O. Henry’ ‘Past One at Rooney’s’ in Strictly Business (1915) 264: That’ll be about enough of that, now. Ain’t you the kidder!
1913		Van Loan ‘For Revenue Only’ in Lucky Seventh (2004) 210: You ain’t fooling that fellow. He’s a better kidder than you are.
1922		Wodehouse Clicking of Cuthbert 179: He’s a great kidder.
1939		V. Davis Gentlemen of the Broad Arrows 23: He’s a kidder. D’ye know what he did to me last lagging?
1945		J. Hoyt Cummings Fatal Pay-off 48: His leathery voice was often mimicked by good-natured kidders.
1950		J.T. Farrell ‘Milly and the Porker’ in Amer. Dream Girl (1950) 198: These guys think they’re kidders, but they can’t get my goat.
1967		L. Bruce Essential Lenny Bruce 123: A hell of a performer, folks, and a great kidder.
1977		Rolling Stone 22 Sept. 13: You’re quite the kidder, huh?
1999		Guardian Rev. 13 Aug. 6: A renowned kidder whose ball-busting methods have levered him into [...] Hollywood’s power tree.
2000		N. Barlay Crumple Zone 149: You’re a kidder but it’s yours anyway.
2017		V. McDermid Insidious Intent (2018) 197: ‘Dont try to kid a kidder, Sam’.

3. a general term of address.

1977		A. Bleasdale No More Sitting on the Old School Bench (1979) 30: Here you are, kidder.
1982		A. Bleasdale ‘Jobs for the Boys’ in Boys from the Blackstuff (1985) [TV script] 55: Hey. You can come again, kidder.
1984		P. Barker Blow Your House Down 69: ‘You know what, kidder?’ he said.
2001		K. Waterhouse Soho 22: I might be wrong, kidder, but didn’t you have a bit of a beard, last time I saw you?