Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US) to charge along, to move swiftly.

1930		J.J. Jones ‘More Sl.’ in AS V:4 305: barrel—Make haste or hurry, or cause to make haste.
1942		C.R. Bond 5 Jan. in A Flying Tiger’s Diary (1984) 94: The Jap pilot [...] ended up flying straight at me. All my guns were firing as we barreled head on at each other.
1951		M. Spillane Long Wait (1954) 162: I barrelled the Ford along at a steady seventy.
1959		A. Zugsmith Beat Generation 26: I crept up the stairs, and barrelled across the backyard.
1965		K. Marlowe Mr Madam (1967) 176: I got in one of grandfather’s diesel trucks and barreled down Main Street.
1971		N. Smith Gumshoe (1998) 160: The Daimler barrelled up the alley towards me.
1978		R. Caron Go-Boy! 111: The early hours of Saturday morning saw me barrelling down a lonely, snow-swept highway in a hot car.
1992		E. St Aubyn ‘Bads News’ in Some Hope (1994) 148: I was barrelling along at eighty through Utah.
1996		R. Doyle Woman Who Walked Into Doors 98: No barrelling down the stairs like he was Starsky or Hutch.
2005		J. Stahl I, Fatty 18: Daddy [...] barreled in from the fields.

2. (Aus.) to knock down, to hit, esp. as a result of a tackle in football.

1952		Age (Melbourne) 22 Feb. 4: When he learned that Cowin had been paying attention to her he ‘got high and barrelled him [...] He was after Pat and got what he deserved’.
1969		A. Buzo Rooted III i: Remember that last football match, in the grand final when Davo got barrelled?
1975		Bulletin (Sydney) 26 Apr. 46: You wouldn’t believe some mug picked Punchy for a mark and barrelled a king at him at the bar.
1983		R. Aven-Bray Ridgey-Didge Oz Jack Lang 19: Barrel Strike a person hard.
1994		Penguin Bk of Aus. Jokes 359: The publican comes around and warns them not to stare at the bloke as he gets ‘real stroppy. He’ll come round and barrel you in a minute!’.

3. (Aus.) to kill.

1966		Baker Aus. Lang. (2nd edn).
1972		J. De Hoog Skid Row Dossier 106: I’ll barrel her [...] The only thing that stopped me shovin’ her through the window was a charge of assault and breakin’ and enterin’ [AND].

4. (NZ prison) to attack verbally, to scold.

1999

D. Looser ‘Boob Jargon’ in NZEJ 13 barrel: v. To tell off, chastise.