Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US Und./gambling, also monte game) the three-card trick, ‘find the lady’; also attrib.

1841		Southern Literary Messenger VII 77/2: At a short distance were seated the proprietors of this immense herd, busily engaged in the game of Monte [DA].
1872		Schele De Vere Americanisms 327: Monte is most generally known in the South and Southwest [...] passionately indulged in by the mixed population of those regions.
1881		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 15 Oct. 6/1: ‘His benefactress backed him in a monte game’.
1887		G. Devol Forty Years a Gambler 30: A man that will bet on a game such as monte is a bigger robber than the man who does the playing, for he thinks he is robbing you, and you know you are robbing him.
1889		Dead Bird (Sydney) 21 Dec. 11/4: Nine out of every ten of them will go through you cleaner than a monte-spieler goes through a country mug.
1895		Truth (Sydney) 19 May 4/5: I was living on the racecourse, at monte and spieling.
1908		‘O. Henry’ ‘Hostages to Momus’ in Gentle Grafter (1915) 198: Me and Caligula Polk [...] was down in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas running a peripatetic lottery and monte game.
1933		J.E. Grinstead ‘Old Pard’ in Goodstone Pulps (1970) 66/1: All trailed into the Shorthorn Saloon [...] to play poker or monte.
1938		H. Asbury Sucker’s Progress 55: Most of the Monte tricksters were accompanied by from one to five confederates, who worked up interest in the game and brought victims to the block.
1948		P. Johnston Gold Rush 19/1: The miners [...] started games of poker, blackjack, and monte [DA].
1977		D. Powis Signs of Crime 193: Monte The three-card trick.

2. (Aus., also monte-man, monty) a racecourse tipster.

1914		Truth (Melbourne) 10 Jan. 5/7: The whispering tipster is more difficult to detect than the monty-man.
1996		Ozwords Oct. 🌐 monty (also monte): a certainty, a sure winner, especially a horse considered certain to win a race [...] Earlier, the term (sometimes in the form monte man) was used for a racehorse tipster.

3. (Aus./N.Z., also monty) an absolute certainty.

1894		H. Lawson ‘Martin Farrell’ in Roderick (1967–9) I 269: Chaps, I’ve got a vote for Hughie — but it ain’t no monte yet.
1900–10		Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.] 99: Monte: a sure thing, a dead bird, a thing very sure to happen or win. Nothing has a chance, as in the monte game.
1902		Bulletin Reciter 1880–1901 181: I saw / Dat I ’ad de biggest monte / Dat I ever ’ad before.
1907		Sun. Times (Perth) 23 June 4/7: It’s a monty that Greville and Grenike know / The strong of ‘invisible pepper and salt’.
1916		Sun. Times (Perth) 19 Nov. 5s/4: We’re in the bag for certain. It’s a monte that we’re dead.
1930		K.S. Prichard Haxby’s Circus 41: She’s the chance of a life-time [...] The biggest bloomin’ monty ever started on a racecourse.
1947		D. Davin For the Rest of Our Lives 121: The others came on. Jerries, for a monty.
1968		G. Slatter Pagan Game (1969) 163: Maleesh the condys — I’m a monty for the big double, Saturday.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 73/2: monte a certainty, often in reference to a likely winner; from the three-card monte trick of Spanish American card game; eg ‘Put your money on Bluebell in the Fifth, she’s a monte.’.
1989		R. McDonald Rough Wallaby 210: A jockey was a ‘fork’ [...] a sure thing a ‘monty’ or ‘soda’.
1996		Ozwords Oct. 🌐 monty (also monte): a certainty, a sure winner, especially a horse considered certain to win a race.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].

4. one who plays sense 1 above.

1902

C.L. Cullen More Ex-Tank Tales 81: ‘You don’t jes’ happen t’ have any little game with three kyar about you?’ he asked me [...] ‘D’ye think I’d have been ditched if I’d been a monte?’ I got back.

5. (Aus.) a lie.

1984

Partridge DSUE (8th edn) 750: since ca. 1935.

6. (N.Z.) an admirable person.

1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 73/2: monte [...] a fine person or thing, by extension; eg ‘Old Claude’s a monte, he’d do anything for you.’.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].