Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a general negative intensifier, orig. complete, utter, frightful, very ugly, monstrous [SE by late 19C].

1795		Derby Mercury 1 Oct. 3/1: [headline] An Awful Death!
1816		J. Lambert Canada and US etc. n.p.: The country people of the New England States make use of many quaint expressions in their conversation. Every thing that creates surprise is awful with them: ‘What an awful wind! Awful hole! Awful hill! Awful mouth! Awful nose!’ etc [F&H].
1828		C. Lamb ‘Gentle Giantess’ Essays of Elia 219: She is indeed, as the Americans would express it, something awful .
1847		J.M. Field Drama in Pokerville 103: Madison is an ‘awful place for revivals!’ an ‘awful place for Mesmerism!’ an ‘awful place for Mrs. Nichols’ poems!’ an ‘awful place for politics!’.
c.1850		F.M. Whitcher Widow Bedott Papers (1883) 32: Why she’s the awfullest tempered critter ’t ever was made.
1864		T.F. Upson diary 29 May in Winther With Sherman to the Sea (1958) 110: The skirmishers came running in and then begun the aufulest [sic] musketry firing I ever heard.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 4 Apr. 11/1: In his buggy – / Awful toff – / Deep in thought, too, / ‘Pull it off.’ / Coin for him, sirs, / Has no zest; / If it’s not got / ‘On the best.’.
1889		B. Mitford Fire Trumpet II 113: Those poetic fellows do talk awful bosh.
1892		A. Bierce letter 6 Nov. in Pope Letters of Ambrose Bierce (1922) 16: I have awful arrears of correspondence.
1892		Home News for India 26 Feb. 13/2: I feel certain that Mrs. Grundy herself sometimes says things are ‘jolly,’ and qualifies her substantives with the adjective ‘awful’.

2. excellent, first-rate, a general positive intensifier.

1843		R. Carlton New Purchase I 182: Pot-pie is the favourite, and woodsmen, sharp set, are awful eaters.
1851		Era 10 Aug. 4/2: O, it waz a merry game for ther lite-finger’d lot — ther amounte ov swag must have been awful.
1870		London & Provincial Entr’acte 15 Oct. 3/1: A ventriloquist, who cuts an awful dash.
1882		Bristol Magpie 23 Nov. 6/1: Quite too awfully awful.
1898		Boy’s Own Paper 12 Nov. 102: What awful sport it would be, parleying with the old man about his little German master.
1905		‘Hugh McHugh’ You Can Search Me 38: It made an awful hit with Uncle Peter to see me cough up those two bones.
1912		G.R. Chester Five Thousand an Hour Ch. ii: I wasn’t a star, but I was featured and was making an awful hit.
1923		J. Manchon Le Slang.
1930		W.S. Maugham Bread-Winner Act II: It would be awful fun.
1977		S. Berkoff East in Decadence and Other Plays (1985) 68: I saw the most awful cracker. A right darlin’.
1992		P. McCabe Butcher Boy (1993) 28: We’re an awful crowd!
1996		(con. 1970) G. Moxley Danti-Dan in McGuinness Dazzling Dark (1996) I iv: I have an awful horn on me.