Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (UK Und.) to escape, to run away, esp. as excl. edge! run for it! as called out by a lookout; to avoid or keep away; thus also phr. keep the edge up, to act as lookout.

1847		G.M.W. Reynolds Mysteries of London III 66/1: The skin had three finnips and a foont [...] I’ll cop them to you fof edging the gaff.
1886		Daily News Nov. in Ware (1909) 122/2: One of the other two called out ‘Edge’ (a slang term to be off), and they ran away.
1893		P.H. Emerson Signor Lippo 92: If she’d done a deal with them, she’d edge the carsey for months till she thought a new slavey was there.
1905		‘Doss Chiderdoss’ ‘They Begged To Differ’ Sporting Times 15 Apr. 1/3: Then discreetly ‘edge’ before / He’s recognised or sighted.
1910		L. Esson Woman Tamer in Ballades of Old Bohemia (1980) 67: Yow! Edge it. Here’s big Jones, the cow.
1920		Ade Hand-made Fables 52: He edged toward the Hay at 9 p.m. unless intercepted.
1926		Advertiser (Adelaide) 7 May 13/2: ‘Edge’ was a corrupted form of ‘beware’.
1949		H.C. Bosman Cold Stone Jug (1981) II 21: I piped what looks like two johns coming round the johnny horner. And I gives them the office to edge it.
1973		(con. mid-1960s) J. Patrick Glasgow Gang Observed 77: I ‘kept the edge up’ at the outer door and shouted ‘Polis!’ as soon as I dared.

2. (Aus.) to discontinue.

1914		Sport (Adelaide) 11 Sept. 4/3: Bobby S. ought to mind his own affairs [...] Edge it, Bob.
1924		(con. WWI) A.G. Pretty Gloss. of Sl. [...] in the A.I.F. 1921–1924 (rev. t/s) n.p.: edge. To discontinue.