killer n.
1. (UK prison) the treadmill.
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 144/2: One morning, as we were ‘falling in for the wheel’ [...] Joe whispered: ‘Si thee, this ’ere’s t’ last daiy I’m ban to wurk that blarsted “killer”.’. |
2. someone or something exceptional (both positive and negative).
(a) (orig. US) an outstanding, formidable person, often attractive, occas. menacing.
| Bk of Sports 137: In beauty none could them surpass, / In mansion nor in villa: / For Sal was quite a killing lass, / And Bill was quite a killer. | |
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | John March, Southerner 129: She’s an awful man-killeh; repo’ted engaged to five fellahs at once. | |
| ‘College Words and Phrases’ in DN II:i 44: killer, n. 1. One who does things easily. 2. One who recites perfectly. | |
| ‘Idioms of the Present-Day American Negro’ in AS XIII:4 Dec. 314/2: KILLER, or SENDER. One who is extremely well-dressed or witty. | |
| None But the Lonely Heart 196: ‘Watch out, Ernie boy,’ says Jim [...] ‘She’s a killer when she starts.’. | |
| Hear Me Talking to Ya 227: I’m a killer in my new shepherd plaid suit. | |
| There Must Be a Pony! 75: Boy, she was a killer. | |
| (con. 1960s) Black Gangster (1991) 33: ‘Okay, killer,’ he said coldly. | |
| Midnight Lightning 101: Ike was a killer with his rhythm concept. | |
 | ‘Killer, Duck and The Boys’ in ThugLit Apr. [ebook] ‘She’s a killer, boys [...] Back from Vegas and looking, foxy!’ . |
(b) lit. of an object, something exceptional of its type; fig., an outstanding pleasure.
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | Bulletin (Sydney) 29 Sept. 10/1: He could joke like Joe Miller; / His smile was a ‘killer’; / His buttonhole bore an azale. | |
| Pittsburgh Courier (PA) 9 Dec. 7/1: Jack, everything was a solid killer. | |
| ‘Solid Meddlin’’ in People’s Voice (NY) 14 Mar. 33/1: Landing back in thr Apple after so long [...] it was really a killer to be on the main stroll. | |
| Really the Blues 203: The hype that was laid down that night was really a killer. | |
| Book of Negro Folklore 485: killer : A great thing, something or somebody wonderful. Harlem is a killer, man! | |
| Bunch of Ratbags 160: He was an exceptionally good-looker and was a killer with the sheilas. | |
| (con. 1930s) Night People 38: [of a record] ‘Man, that’s a killer, isn’t it?’ he said. | |
| Glitter Dome (1982) 63: I got a killer of an idea! | |
| Curvy Lovebox 57: For me the killer’s right there on the main wall: a monster fuckin’ photograph of Nood holdin’ Mac. |
(c) (orig. US) something very difficult to manage.
| Potash And Perlmutter 2: Everything about ’em is all right, excepting one thing and that’s always a killer. | |
![[Ire]](/static/img/flags/ire.png "Ireland") | Drink and Time in Dublin in Irish Writing No. 1 May 72: It’s the late nights that’s the killer, two or three in the morning, getting poisoned in shebeens . | |
| Battle Cry (1964) 20: The trip along Lake Erie is a killer. | |
| letter 3 Aug. in Proud Highway (1997) 345: I have [...] 200 pounds of excess luggage, so the trip should be a killer. | |
| Dead Zone (1980) 144: I get headaches sometimes, real killers. | |
| ‘Diamonds are for Heather’ Only Fools and Horses [TV script] That’s a killer of a song. | |
| Snapper 179: He belched again. – Sharon. Tha’ fried bread’s a killer. – Wha’ I’m tryin’ to say is –. | |
| Indep. 14 Feb. 18: That general knowledge stuff. It’s a killer. | |
| Life 406: Oh just one, now that I’m clean. Just that fatal one more, that celebration, is a killer. |
(d) of performers/performances, the very best; the climax of of a performance (see cite 1939).
| Metronome Apr. 55: That Zutie drummer-man is really a killer! | |
| Kingdom of Swing 239: [E]very number should be played with life and enthusiasm, as if you really enjoyed playing it. Saving all your punch for the ‘killer’ at the end of the set is bad stuff. | |
| letter 4 Apr. in Leader (2000) 382: I’m sure Kenneth More would be a killer in the part if it ever gets as far as that. | |
| Dear ‘Herm’ 35: He is called ‘Blitz’ on account he is a killer at gin Rummy. | |
| Campus Sl. Mar. |
3. (orig. Aus.) the ‘clincher’, the final word in an argument; also attrib.
| DSUE (8th edn) 646: since ca. 1945. | |
| Indep. Rev. 5 Jan. 4: The killer question, however, is: would you want to go there for one of those weekend city breaks? | |
| Mothers Milk 63: ‘And this was the killer,’ said his father — ‘He knows that if we can’t afford it, I’ll divorce him.’ ‘She’s un-fucking-believable.’. | |
| Viva La Madness 43: So anyways, this is the killer. One year later, eight in the mornin, phone goes, and it’s her, Eve, cryin and wailin. |
4. (Aus./US) a womanizer [abbr. SE lady-killer].
| Aus. Sl. Dict. 41: Killer, he who gains the love of the ladies. | |
| If He Hollers 29: ‘This boy’s really a killer, got all the little brown girls in a dither about him’. | |
| Little Men, Big World 24: He’s a killer [...] Sharpest dresser in town. Poiple shoits! He’ll moidah ya — ya bum! |
5. in drug uses.
(a) (also killer stick) marijuana, a marijuana cigarette.
| Time 19 July 54: Cigarets made from [marijuana] are killers. | |
| Narcotics Lingo and Lore. | |
| Gettysburg (PA) Times 1 June 9/2: When they [i.e. high-school students] talk about a marijuana cigarette, it’s called ‘the killer.’. | |
| ONDCP Street Terms 13: Killer — Marijuana. |
(b) phencyclidine.
| ONDCP Street Terms 13: Killer — [...] PCP. |
(c) OxyContin.
| Guardian G2 20 Oct. 5: He gave his housekeeper cigar boxes stuffed with ‘cabbage’ to buy OxyContin (street name ‘killer’) from drug dealers. |
6. as a term of address.
| Another Day in Paradise 21: Come on, killer [...] Let’s roll. | |
| (con. 1975–6) Steel Toes 13: Finish this [food], killer, get some meat back on your bones. |