Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to arrest.

1583		B. Andrewes Certaine verie worthie, godly and profitable sermons 45: [H]auing our affections remoued and freed from them, least they become incombrances to fetter and cloy vs.
1592		Greene Disputation Betweene a Hee and a Shee Conny-Catcher (1923) 10: Truth if fortune so fauour thy husband, that hee be neither smoakt nor cloyed, for I am sure all they brauery comes by his Nipping, Foysting, and lifting.
1639		J. Taylor Crabtree Lectures 193: Cove. But sto Mort: what if I should bee Cloyed in the milling of Cacklers, Quacklers, or Duds, or nipping a Bung, and so be cloyed, & budged to the Naskin.

2. to rob, to steal.

1612		Dekker Canting Song O per se O O1: Bingd out bien Morts and toure, bing out of the Rome-vile: And towre the coue, that cloyde your duds vpon the chates to trine.
1639		J. Taylor Crabtree Lectures 193: Mort. [...] And if thou want lower, budge to the next Vile, and there nip a Bung, or cloy a Culley; then budge to the bowsing Ken, and boose rumsie and beanely.
1648		Dekker Canters Dict. Eng. Villainies (9th edn).
1659		Catterpillers of this Nation Anatomized 4: When there’s a great company gathered of gaping spectators, then they take the opportuinity to fibb and cloy.
1665		Head Eng. Rogue I 46: [as cit. 1612].
a.1674		‘Canting Song’ Head Canting Academy (1674) 22: [as cit. 1637].
1684		W. Nevison in Newgate Calendar I (1926) 291: ‘Now,’ saith he, ‘that thou art entered into our fraternity, thou must not scruple to act any villainies which thou shalt be able to perform, whether it be to nip a bung, bite the Peter Cloy, [...] or to cloy a mish from the crack man’s.’.
1688		J. Shirley Triumph of Wit 219: So she and I did stall and cloy, whatever we could.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Cloy c. to Steal. Cloy the Clout, c. to Steal the Hankerchief [sic]. Cloy the Lour, c. to Steal the Money.
1719		A. Smith Lives of Most Notorious Highway-men, etc. (1926) 204: Cloy, to steal, Cloy the clout, i.e., to steal the handkerchief.
1725		New Canting Dict. n.p.: cloying c. Stealing, Thieving, Robbing.
1734		C. Johnson Hist. of Highwaymen &c. 105: [as cit. 1684].
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. 1725].
1739		Poor Robin n.p.: Money is now a hard commodity to get, insomuch that some will venture their necks for it, by padding, cloying, milling, filching, nabbing, etc., all of which in plain English is only stealing [F&H].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Cloy, to steal, (cant) To cloy the clout; to steal the handkerchief. To cloy the lour; to steal money.
1809		G. Andrewes Dict. Sl. and Cant.
1815		(con. 18C) W. Scott Guy Mannering (1999) 148: There was not one, from Johnnie Faa the upright man, of the gang to little Christie that was in the panniers, would cloyed a dud from them.
1821		Flash Dict.
1835		G. Kent Modern Flash Dict.
1848		Flash Dict. in Sinks of London Laid Open.
c.1850		Duncombe New and Improved Flash Dict.