psych, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

psych v.

[abbr.]

1. (also psyche) to psychoanalyse, to undergo psychological testing.

1932		L.E. Lawes Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing 152: ‘They place dominoes upside down on the table and if I can’t play the game they say I’m subnormal.’ ‘If they want to psyche me, they can go ahead and do it,’ another prisoner remarked.
1963		in T.I. Rubin Sweet Daddy 83: Can we go easy on the psyching bit?
1971		F. Hilaire Thanatos 12: You get psyched and run to segregation [...] The psych talks to you for ten minutes.

2. to work out.

1932		L.E. Lawes Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing 154: No formal test in the mental clinic could have ‘psyched’ Bill as successfully as he did himself.
1966		Current Sl. I:2 5/1: Psych, v. To have somebody or something figured out or solved, particularly teachers or exams. [...] George psyched the course.
1970		(con. 1950s) H. Junker ‘The Fifties’ in Eisen Age of Rock 2 (1970) 100: If you psyched a test, you had it made.
1985		(con. 1968) D.A. Dye Citadel (1989) 244: Steve’s got it psyched.

3. (US campus) to fool, to trick, to tease.

1968		J. Kramer Instant Replay 159: Maybe he’s trying to double-psych us or something.
1976		P. Conroy Great Santini (1977) 137: He is good at psyching me.
1987		Eble Campus Sl. Fall.
1990		Eble Campus Sl. Apr.

In compounds

psych-up (n.)

(US) an act of emotional self-energizing prior to undertaking something challenging.

1991

L. Bing Do or Die (1992) 245: It’s a psych-up to put you in that ultimate moment, that climax of gunplay.

In phrases

psych (out) (v.) [SE psychologize]

1. to frighten or at least perturb someone else by playing on their inner fear; to break someone down psychologically.

1934		H. Sebastian ‘Negro Sl. in Lincoln University’ in AS IX:4 289: psyche (pronounced [saIk]). To outwit; to cross-question; to fathom one’s motives and actions when they appear unfathomable.
1966		Time 29 Apr. 35: Having discovered psychology, the cops induce ‘truth’ by psyching the subject.
1972		A. Chipper Aussie Swearers Guide 64: A lot of Aussie sportsmen have become very adept at this form of psyching (upsetting) opponents in order to make them come the proverbial (meet unsweet defeat).
1975		E. Torres Carlito’s Way 107: The shrinks has been conned — been psyched by the clients.
1977		C. McFadden Serial 55: For some reason Carol’s off men these days — doesn’t that psych you out?
1985		S. Berkoff West in Decadence and Other Plays (1985) 121: I’ll hypnotize the beast / and psych him out.
1994		N. McCall Makes Me Wanna Holler (1995) 196: My homeboys had psyched Tooty out by treating him like a woman.
1996		(con. 1964-65) B. Thorpe Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 33: The fucker was trying to psych me out by planting the idea of vomiting in my head.
1997		C. Newland Scholar 109: Cory looked casually back, refusing to be psyched out.
2000		N. Barlay Crumple Zone 4: Whether they’re winding me up or trying to psyche me out I can’t say.
2012		‘Dutch’ ? (Pronounced Que) [ebook] Gutta wasn’t his usually amped self [...] the young dude was totally psyched out.

2. (US teen) to have one’s emotions under control.

1958

Times (Munster, IN) 19 Jan. 56/1: Slang keeps changing to keep up [...] ‘Psyched out— I’m psyched out — I’m okay mentally.

3. to work out.

1961		Long Beach Press-Telegram 14 Dec. 8: Psyche it out means to think a problem through.
1967–8		Baker et al. CUSS 177: Psych out Guess the material to be covered in an exam.

4. to lose emotional control, to break down.

1964		M. Braun Love Me Do 112: In addition to the ‘psycheing out’ [i.e. by fans] Dr Brothers also provided some interesting [...] information.
1967–8		Baker et al. CUSS 177: Psyched out [...] Tense at the last minute.
1971		J. Mandelkau Buttons 155: I psyched out! I was punching and kicking him.

5. in weak use, to astonish, to amaze.

1975

G. Underwood ‘Razorback Sl.’ in AS L:1/2 64: I’ll tell you what really psyched me out.

psych (up) (v.) [SE psychologize]

1. to feel tense or nervous.

1966

Current Sl. I:2 5/1: Psych, v. [...] To be tense about something [...] He is psyched up about the final.

2. to put oneself or another person into a confident, aggressive etc. frame of mind as preparation for dealing with a situation; to energize or persuade; thus psyched (up) adj. (2)

1961		F. Kohner Gidget Goes Hawaiian 30: Brother, did he psych me up.
1968		New Yorker 10 Aug. 78: He’s never tried to psych us, or insult us with a pep talk.
1978		R. Price Ladies’ Man (1985) 118: It was only two-thirty but I couldn’t psych myself for any more selling that day. [Ibid.] 222: I tried to psych myself up for Monday.
1981		J. Sullivan ‘Christmas Crackers’ Only Fools and Horses [TV script] He’ll be with you in a minute girls, he’s just psyching himself up.
1985		R.G. Barrett You Wouldn’t Be Dead for Quids (1989) 12: This enigmatic coach [...] who was a genius at psyching players up.
1986		C. Hiaasen Tourist Season (1987) 344: Maybe the kid was psyching himself for the game.
1995		R. Campbell Wizard of La-La Land (1999) 166: ‘Feelin’ good,’ he murmered, trying to psych himself, but [...] he didn’t sound very convincing.
1998		I. Welsh Filth 247: I’m psyching myself up, getting into the role.
2007		N. ‘Razor’ Smith Raiders 308: Johnny had psyched himself up [...] on the journey over.
2011		G. Knight Hood Rat 140: They gathered them rogether when they were leaving, to psych them up.
2011		G. Hayward Corruption Officer [ebk] cap. 32: I [...] look off into space and try to psyche myself up to do this.
2024		D. Swierczynski California Bear 32: He’d purchased one of the very first Sony Walkman models [...] and used it to psych himself up for his ‘nighttime patrols’.

3. of machinery, e.g. an automobile, to improve the performance.

1981

in R. Palmer Deep Blues 187: ‘The car was a six [...] but it had been all psyched up. It was super fast.