Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. one’s father; thus grandpops, grandfather.

1928		Barrie Half an Hour in Plays 616: I never heard how much you paid Pops for me?
1933		‘E.M. Delafield’ Gay Life 32: My Pops says I’m ever such a lucky girl to have such heaps of friends .
1958		(con. 1946) A. Wesker Chicken Soup with Barley II i: Good old Pops.
1961		R.A. Norton Through Beatnik Eyeballs 40: Never had no regular Pops.
1978		L. Kramer Faggots 212: That replacement box for the parental authority I wanted as a child, and wo war mien Pops?
1980		E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 250: pops Father.
1997		(con. 1937) D. Farson Never a Normal Man 186: I am going to tell you the exact truth. Pops drunk a lot of beer.
2000		Indep. Rev. 29 Apr. 5: Need a hand there, grandpops?
2000		G. Pelecanos Shame the Devil 127: Maybe you ought to be talkin’ to her pops.
2012		J. Díaz This Is How You Lose Her 163: Her mother left them [...] fled to Rome, and that was it for pops.
2019		S.M. Jones Lives Laid Away [ebook] ‘I ever tell you my pops got robbed at gunpoint?’ .

2. (orig. US black) a term of address, usu. from a younger man to an older one.

1939		Cab Calloway ‘For the Last Time I Cried Over You’ 🎵 [Spoken:] What’s the matter with you, pops; you sure look beat about the gills.
1944		D. Burley Orig. Hbk of Harlem Jive 15: ‘Pops, I’m tops,’ replied Joe Hipp.
1956		‘Ed Lacy’ Men from the Boys (1967) 29: ‘I’d say you’re in good shape—for an old man.’ ‘I’m only fifty-four, you punk.’ ‘Okay, pops, take off your shirt and I’ll give you the works.’.
1964		H. Selby Jr Last Exit to Brooklyn 263: Hows mah man? OK pops.
1975		J. Roe The Same Old Grind 43: ‘Watch it, pops [...] Lost your way the the old folks’ home?’.
1981		J. Ellroy Brown’s Requiem 209: Don’t call me Pops or I’ll call you Sonny Boy.
1995		(con. 1985–90) P. Bourjois In Search of Respect 35: Yo Pops [waving Primo over], listen to this, [turning to me] Felipe thinks the block is chill.
2004		C. Hiaasen Skinny Dip 153: How much is it worth to you, pops?
2010		Codella and Bennett Alphaville (2011) 43: ‘Get away from my store, goddamn it’ ‘One minute, pops’.
2021		J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 143: ‘I’m not here to nail you for your CP membership, pops’.

3. (US) an old man.

1972		D. Claerbaut Black Jargon in White America 76: pops n. an adult male person.
1981		J. Ellroy Brown’s Requiem 169: Pops gave me another disgusted snort.
1992		D. Pinckney High Cotton (1993) 144: Every ‘Pops’ he had met was very heavy, close to the earth, wise in the way of herbs.
1997		Simon & Burns Corner (1998) 186: They’d started shooting their dope down with Pops on Fulton Avenue.
2001		‘Randy Everhard’ Tattoo of a Naked Lady 9: I gave Pops a back-handed wave as we booked outta there double-time.