Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a writer.

1833		Mr Mathews’ Comic Annual 7: Mr. Rigmarole was a dramatic scribe of some talent.
1833		Pilot 26 Aug. 3/2: The Castle Scribe of the Post, we see, commenced [...] his old grade of abusing O’Connell again.
1848		G.W.M. Reynolds Mysteries of London II (2nd series) 74: The ungrammatical scribe.
1881		Bulletin (Sydney) 8 Jan. 4/3: The sporting scribe gave the straight tip, and the snake was euchred.
1894		G. du Maurier Trilby 220: That is the question the present scribe is doing his best to answer.
1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 217/2: Scribe (Press, 1870 on). A poor writer.
1912		Van Loan ‘Little Sunset’ Ten-Thousand-Dollar Arm 85: The baseball scribes, always optimistic [...] were thankful.
1932		M. Marshall Travels of Tramp-Royal 147: That most superlative English which guide-book scribes would have us believe.
1962		F. Norman Guntz 9: Maybe it was these birds and geezers and cranks that made me become a ‘scribe’.
1998		P. McCabe Breakfast on Pluto 3: That was what he called me — the scribe.

2. a journalist.

1882		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 4 Mar. 6/1: The scribes had given a ‘bang-up’ description of the ‘bon ton affair’.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 2 May 6/4: Now, when ‘Mr. Edward Hanlan’ was cock of the walk, and was grovelled to and slobbered over by all sorts of scribes, he didn’t talk about his ‘sanctified’ private life – which, by the way, was spent in his ‘pub.’.
1886		J. Miller Destruction of Gotham 42: A fellow scribe [...] like himself, picking up crumbs of fact and fancy.
1895		C. Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 71: Scribes, newspaper correspondents.
1902		‘Billy Burgundy’ Toothsome Tales Told in Sl. 54: A certain wise scribe connected with a yellow daily.
1910		‘O. Henry’ ‘The Call of the Tame’ Strictly Business (1915) 100: The employment of the wonderful plural ‘tenderfeet’ in each of the scribe’s stories.
1916		El Paso Herald (TX) 25 Apr. 10/2: The Chicago scribes go up in force and naturally boost for their fellow townsman.
1927		(con. 1835–40) P. Herring Bold Bendigo 61: This gentleman is quite within his rights in criticising the fight since he is a foremost scribe of the London sporting prints.
1931		D. Runyon ‘Romance in the Roaring Forties’ Runyon on Broadway (1954) 34: Dave grabs the scribe [...] and is taking him out for an airing.
1940		S. Lister Mistral Hotel (1951) 180: ‘Naturally!’ replied the young scribe.
1940		‘Digg Mee’ ‘Observation Post’ in N.Y. Age 20 July 10/6: Bryant is now a scribe attached to a local paper.
1952		N.Y. Herald Trib. 8 Sept. 17/1: The sporting scribes (writer to you) have always strained a bit at the limitations of the language.
1976		Cab Calloway Of Minnie the Moocher and Me 99: The scribes didn’t know.
1992		M. Coleman Fatty 102: ‘All the scribes had me in their side,’ Vautin said.
2000		Indep. 25 Mar. 8: Enter two scribes from Fleet Street.

3. (US black) a letter.

1933		Eve. Sun (Baltimore, MD) 9 Dec. 31/5: Scribe — a letter.
1938		Pittsburgh Courier (PA) 30 July 11/1: I am really brought to my deuce of benders that so many brights have cut [illeg.] since I laste mitted you a scribe.
1944		D. Burley Orig. Hbk of Harlem Jive 123: A series of scribes about the different types [...] of Goldbrickers.
a.1962		‘Answer to the Letter’ in D. Wepman et al. Life (1976) 143: As I finished her scribe, which was no surprise, / I decided to cut this bitch down to size.

4. (US black) a young woman.

1938		Newark Advocate (OH) 2 Sept. 12/5: The main scribe and I were to the sea last night and the domicile was in solid.
1944		D. Burley Orig. Hbk of Harlem Jive 88: A ‘scribe’ is a young woman definitely dear to the Jiver’s heart.

5. (UK Und.) a forger.

1938		F.D. Sharpe Sharpe of the Flying Squad 297: As soon as they get some cheques or ‘kites,’ as they call them, they are rushed off to the ‘penman’ or ‘scribe,’ whose task is that of taking out crosses on them, enlarging the figures and preparing suitable letters to the bank asking them to cash the cheques.
1941		V. Davis Phenomena in Crime 48: The actual forger, known by such names as [...] ‘the scribe’ [...] may consider himself extremely fortunate if his period of office exceeds two years.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).