Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US) a gun, esp. a large one; thus a gun barrel.

1886		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 20 Mar. 6/2: The pistol [...] was a ponderous aflair, strongly suggestive of a mountain howitzer or a young Krupp gun. ‘Is that the cannon that was found on him?’ Col Fellows asked.
1896		F. Hutcheson Barkeep Stories 10: ‘De next hobo dat maces me [...] is liable to have t’ duck away from a cannon’.
1901		J. Flynt World of Graft 137: The thief had him covered with his ‘cannon’ before he could do any damage.
1908		H. Green Maison De Shine 51: Many a joint I cleaned out with my cannon.
1915		G. Bronson-Howard God’s Man 128: The Swede unloads a cannon, and gits Joe in the currency kick.
1918		H. Simon ‘Prison Dict.’ in AS VIII:3 (1933) 25/1: CANNON. 1. Revolver or pistol.
1926		J. Black You Can’t Win (2000) 152: One of them got peeved and started to lug out his ‘cannon’.
1935		R. Chandler ‘Nevada Gas’ in Spanish Blood (1946) 142: Kick that cannon over this way.
1936		R.L. Bellem ‘Falling Star’ in Spicy Detective Sept. 🌐 Listen, snoop. This cannon ain’t stuffed with feathers, see? Make just one wrong move and I’ll feed you a lead supper.
1944		J. Archibald ‘Skip Tracer Bullets’ in Popular Detective June 🌐 Stop pressin’ that cannon so hard against my ribs.
1950		‘Hal Ellson’ Tomboy (1952) 95: I’d carry my own cannon, a pearl-handle and all, in a shoulder-holster.
1960		C. Cooper Jr Syndicate (1998) 95: It was a cannon, but I just might need a cannon tonight.
1973		E. Bunker No Beast So Fierce 169: ‘How is it?’ [...] ‘It’s bear meat. If we brought the cannons we’d get him right now.’ ‘That good, huh?’.
1986		C. Stroud Close Pursuit (1988) 150: It’s a cannon, Wolfie. You fire this thing inside the city limits, you’ll blow out windows all the way up Fifth.
1988		D. Woodrell Muscle for the Wing 135: Let me swing that cannon.
1997		Simon & Burns Corner (1998) 502: The smaller one goes into the dip of his sweats, starts to pull out the cannon.
2003		N. Green Angel of Montague Street (2004) 157: She looked at the pistol [...] ‘Put the cannon away and come inside.’.
2014		Young M.A. ‘Brooklyn (Chiraq Freestyle’ 🎵 This big cannon do big damage.
2018		Digga D ‘Mad About Bars’ 🎵 If they get nicked with the cannon, they won't stay real and sing like Mariah.

2. (US) a hired gunman.

1918		H. Simon ‘Prison Dict.’ in AS VIII:3 (1933) 25/1: CANNON. 1. Revolver or pistol. 2. The thief who carried it.
1933		Ersine Und. and Prison Sl.

3. (US drugs) a hypodermic syringe [play on gun n.¹ (7)].

1959

J.E. Schmidt Narcotics Lingo and Lore.

4. (US) the penis [play on gun n.¹ (2)].

[1693		Petition of the Widows in Harleian Misc. X (1810) 171: We have been concerned in several fierce engagements; and the men played their sharps against us, when we could only produce flats on our side [...] yet when the fortune of the battle began to change [...] we never treated them otherwise than christians; we never nailed up their cannon when we had it in our possession].
1834		‘The Soldier from Flanders’ in Randy Songster in Spedding & Watt (eds) I 211: What did you mean by those two bomb shells, / That went thump thump &c. / Oh the first that went in was my cannon, said he / Which will force any gate open wide.
1964		in E. Cray Erotic Muse (1992) 169: She’s got a cannon tucked down in her lap. / You know without asking she’s always got clap. / Just ask her to show you her favorite sore, / She’s Charlotte the harlot.
1975		T. Berger Sneaky People (1980) 144: I’d like to jazz you for old times’ sake but the cannon’s full of rust.
1983		R. Klein Jailhouse Jargon and Street Sl. [unpub. ms.].

5. (US) a pimp.

1979

‘Iceberg Slim’ Airtight Willie and Me 16: We caught a glimpse of her cannon assing it down the alley.

6. (US) in bodybuilding, a bicep.

2008

D.R. Pollock ‘Discipline’ in Knockemstiff 118: [ ]two babes ran up and put hickeys on Bobby’s biceps [...] That even made me hard, watching the one little bitch in the hip-huggers suck on his cannons.