Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a derog. term for an East Asian person.

1900		Bourbon News (Paris, KY) 7 Dec. 7/1: The great mass of rubbish that’s been written about the slant-eyes [is] disputed.
1909		Wentachee Dly World (WA) 12 July 8/3: De women, dey get crazy ’bout dem slant eyes, and when anybody gets to hitten’ he hop dese chinks smoke it’s all off den.
1928		Chicago trib. 29 July 57/1-3: ‘Hello,’ says Mr Slant-Eyes; ‘velly nice day, huh?’ [...] At this moment another slant-eye breezes through the back door.
1929		V.W. Saul ‘Vocab. of Bums’ in AS IV:5 344: Slant eye—An oriental.
1930		R.E. Howard ‘Winner Take All’ Fight Stories July 🌐 ‘But why was that slant-eye tryin’ to knife you?’ [Ibid.] ‘He fired me because I wouldn’t let him get fresh with me—the old slant-eyed snake.’.
1936		(ref. to 1920s) L. Duncan Over the Wall 34: The slant-eyes were only on the lookout for cops, that’s all.
1945		R.S. Close Love me Sailor 12: I had just remembered a little bit of slit-eye I used to know in Chinatown.
1953		L. Uris Battle Cry (1964) 420: Them slanteyes couldn’t hit a bull in the ass with a bull fiddle.
1954		T.A.G. Hungerford Sowers of the Wind 5: I’ll think of you slaving your guts out while I’m teaching some little slit-eye a thing or two.
1965		D. Martin Hero of Too 321: They all looked like Japanese. Slit-eyes everywhere.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 218: The ‘Slant Eyes’ just put the torch to Pearl Harbor.
1978		(con. WWII) T. Sanchez Hollywoodland (1981) 34: The pinups might help the war effort [...] by keeping all those slanteyes’ fingers busy.
1981		M. Baker Nam (1982) 92: Hong Kong! That’s one of the most expensive places, plus you’re dealing with slant eyes. I wanted to see something with round eyes.
1986		C. Bowles G’DAY 92: Ockers are worried that the slant-eyes, slopeheads, wogs and other reffos are going to take over the joint.
1993		B. Moore Lex. of Cadet Lang. 348: slanty eye an Asian — usually shortened to slant.
1994		J. O’Connor Secret World of the Irish Male (1995) 38: He once referred to the Japanese as ‘slant-eyes’.

2. (US) used a nickname for one who squints.

1908

Republic City News (KS) 8 Sept. 7/1: He promptly declared it to be the work of Slant-eye McCafferty, his hated rival.