Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. of a man, to have sexual intercourse [cit. 1674 listed by Rabelais (trans. Motteux) among the ‘Games of Gargantua’ as ‘battabum, or riding of the wilde mare’].

1674		Hogan-Moganides 31: Guddy Allgut did engage At Battabum [lit. ‘batter-bum’], the Cornish Hugg, A Buxom Wench, and Jolly Pug, Who oft together scraping Bacon At length they found that she had taken.
1751		Smollett Peregrine Pickle (1964) 641: ‘Egad! ’tis my opinion, that if your covered way was laid open, few people would venture to give the assault.’ [...] ‘As for that matter, (cried the other with precipitation) they would have no occasion to batter in breach; they would find the angle of the la pucelle bastion demolished to their hands: he he!’.
c.1790		‘The Wee Wee Bag of Potatoes’ Luke Caffrey’s Gost 5: Oh how he batter’d her [...] how he twangled her, with his Wee Wee Bag of Potatoes.
1889		C. Deveureux Venus in India I 167: Again and again did he batter!
1966		Trimble 5000 Adult Sex Words and Phrases.
1972		R.A. Wilson Playboy’s Book of Forbidden Words.

2. of a woman or homosexual man, to work as a (street) prostitute; thus on the batter phr., working as a prostitute.

1849		Sam Sly 28 Apr. 3/1: We beg leave to advise Mr. Er—st T—k [...] to marry that poor girl, who is now on the batter in London. Shame on you, you ought to know better.
1882		Sydney Sl. Dict. (2 edn) 1: ‘On the batter,’ on the streets or town.
1900–10		Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.] 11: ‘On the batter,’ on the streets applies to prostitutes, termed in French argot ‘battre le quart,’ with this special meaning.
1901		W.S. Walker In the Blood 162: It’s them Chinkies as ’as set ’undreds of girls on the batter.
1936		J. Curtis Gilt Kid 22: It’s a private gaff. It’ll be dead. It belongs to a jane. She’s on the batter.
1938		G. Kersh Night and the City 166: In the family way, that’s where it got me; and then I had to batter for a few quid.
1947		J. Maclaren-Ross ‘The Dark Diceman’ in Bitten by the Tarantula (2005) 205: He thrust on [...] towards the brass nails on the batter.
1956		‘Charles Raven’ Und. Nights 164: ‘Aunt Polly’ the lodger [...] was on the batter.
1958		A. Sillitoe Sat. Night and Sun. Morning 126: They had come out for a night on the batter, he said to himself.
1962		R. Cook Crust on its Uppers 58: You don’t know what it’s like, havin’ to go on the batter.
1968		G. Slatter Pagan Game (1969) 175: The due mille jobs, the fur coat jobs on the batter.
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 28: batter (Brit gay sl) to work as a male prostitute.
1980		J. McClure Spike Island (1981) 497: I had her recommended to me [...] fifteen pound for an hour. She’s on the bloody batter, y’see.
1981		(con. c.1910) A. Harding in Samuel East End Und. 126: They sent girls out ‘on the batter’ and lumbered the men they brought in.
1986–7		Maledicta IX 143: The COD (cock on delivery) lads chiefly go on the batter (walk the streets) making gay pennies as cash ass.
2005		B. Hare Urban Grimshaw 184: Girls came and went on the batter and punters came and went for their drugs.
2019		P. Baker Fabulosa 289/1: batter prostitution. To go on the batter was to walk the streets as a prostitute.
2023		R. Milward Man-Eating Typewriter 138: The rent-chavvies and the gillies-on-batter eagerly awaiting fresh salty cock as soon as the gangway touches land.

3. (US) to beg; thus on the batter phr., living as a beggar; batter the privates v., beg from private citizens [refers to a beggar ‘battering’ on a door].

1891		Contemp. Rev. Aug. 255: Begging is called ‘battering for chewing’.
1899		J. Flynt Tramping with Tramps 106: A kid who averaged [...] three dollars a day for almost a week, by standing in front of shops and ‘battering’ the ladies as they passed.
1907		J. London Road 74: I was lost. I could not tear myself away long enough to ‘batter’ the ‘privates’ (domiciles) for my supper.
1917		‘A-No. 1’ From Coast to Coast with Jack London 19: There were the ‘hunger lanes,’ thus nicknamed by the Wandering Willies because [...] the populace [...] refused to ‘produce’ in response to further ‘battering’ for alms.
1921		P. & T. Casey Gay-cat 22: Kid [...] you’ll have to batter for handouts this mornin’.
1927		W. Edge Main Stem 67: I’d hate like hell to have to batter in my own home town.
1931		Irwin Amer. Tramp and Und. Sl. 23: Batter.—To beg or solicit alms. [...] Batter the Drag.—To beg on the street. [...] Batter the privates.—To beg from door to door in a residential district.
1935		J. Conroy World to Win 57: I mooched the stem, and Dude there battered the privates.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 24/1: Batter. To panhandle. [...] Batter, on the. Operating as a panhandler.
1962		Ragen & Finston World’s Toughest Prison 790: batter – To solicit or beg alms [...] batter the drag – To beg on the street [...] batter the privates – To beg from door to door in a residential district.

4. of a drug, to consume heavily.

2008

J. Niven Kill Your Friends (2009) 15: Rumour has it [...] that he is battering the chang. Grams and grams every day.