Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. in verbal senses [the words drip from one’s mouth; note RN dripper, a habitual whinger].

2. a weakling, a spineless person [a weak drip of water, rather than a full gush].

1926		Judge (NY) 91 July-Dec. 31: Dripo - Some one who is 'all wet'.
1932		G. & S. Lorimer Men are like Street Cars in Ladies’ Home Jrnl 49 10/3: He’s no drip [...] Ted’s a darn good egg. He stroked our crew. And what he doesn’t know about women — .
1936		N. Marsh Death in Ecstasy 215: What about that little drip Claude?
1940		M. Marples Public School Slang 59: Boys in general have a great flair for derogatory and vituperative expression [...] swot, swank, sneak, jew, swine, tick, scoff, cad, blog, nip, oik, lout, wet, drip, squit, squirt, mug, scug, sap, simp, seet, gump, muff, goof, goop, waft.
1943		R. Chandler Lady in the Lake (1952) 184: That frozen-faced little drip — what is she to me?
1945		Baker Aus. Lang. 130: Fools of one kind and another [...] lolly, dilpot, dolly pot, gaylo, drip, flathead, possum, gammy, gazob, gimp and gup.
1953		Mad mag. Oct.–Nov. 31: Put your headphones on, you drip!
1953		T.A.G. Hungerford Riverslake 143: Only the drips settle in dumps like this.
1959		C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 201: Now he looked such a drip you couldn’t even get vexed enough to crunch him.
1964		‘Charles Barrett’ Address: Kings Cross 102: Herman was a drip.
1965		(con. 1920s) Carmichael & Longstreet Sometimes I Wonder 161: The average undergraduate of the 1920’s [...] was a lot of other things; radio-bug, grind, drip, highbrow.
1979		F. Norman Too Many Crooks Spoil the Caper 46: He’s a bit of a drip.
1988		R. Doyle Commitments 14: Tha’ fuckin’ drip.
1999		Guardian G2 25 June 10: I always thought you were a bit of a drip.
2011		J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 193: He’s a drip who couldn’t hold up a wet handkerchief, let alone a deranged mummyfucker like Jesus Zambrano.
2021		P Howard Braywatch 169: [S]he was better off staying married to a drip like him.

3. (also drips, dripsy) venereal disease, esp. gonorrhoea.

1941		in G. Legman Limerick (1953) 230: [He] showed up with a ‘drip,’ / And was red-lined (35–1440).
1983		Timezone ‘Wild Style’ 🎵 I heard you got the drips.
2002		(ref. 1940s) B. Morrison Things My Mother Never Told Me 144: ‘Now lads,’ he begins, ‘you know what I’m here to talk about: VD. The clap, the pox, syph, dripsy, French gout and all the other things they call it.’.
2024		J. Meades Empty Wigs (t/s) 769: ‘[W]e weren’t doing it because of him having a little sniffle... he got the drips off Damaris’.

4. (US black) stylish clothing, a stylish look.

2017		Urban Dict. 6 Apr. 🌐 When your bling is iced out but that shit melting from all your hot bars, you got the drip. Just another word for immense swag.
2021		Central Cee ‘Sex Money Drugs’ 🎵 I’ma buy that drip times two for all of the times I couldn’t afford it.
2022		Twitter 6 Apr. 🌐 [of a glamorous photo] What kind of drip is this.
2023		Sydney Morn. Herald 18 Nov. 🌐 Drip: Slang from Gen Z, meaning a trendy sense of style.