boogie, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

boogie v.

[SE boogie-woogie, a form of jazz-based dance, or pitch a boogie-woogie under boogie-woogie n.]

(orig. US black)

1. to have sexual intercourse.

1930		L. Bogan ‘Alley Boogie’ 🎵 I boogie all night, all the night before / When I woke up this morning I wanted to boogie some more .
1935		K. Arnold ‘Feels So Good’ 🎵 I know you been boogyin’ by the way you stand.
1944		in Randolph & Legman Ozark Folksongs and Folklore (1992) II 682: I boogied this morning / I boogied the night before, / You come over to my house / And we’ll boogie some more.
1961		C. Himes Pinktoes (1989) 158: I’ll boogie your woogie.
1974		Eble Campus Sl. Mar. 1: boogie [...] in some parts of the US can mean sexual intercourse.
1980		E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 153: Terms like to boogie [...] for intercourse and scat for vagina all suggest sex in musical or dance terms.

2. to enjoy oneself, to have a party, a good time; extended in excl. boogie down! let’s have fun!

1944		D. Burley Orig. Hbk of Harlem Jive 36: Now, Homey, forget your mama, forget your papa too, / And ‘boogie’ with real feeling in a ‘room where lights are blue’.
1967		F. Salas Tattoo the Wicked Cross (1981) 126: There wasn’t no man, no institute, no mothers, no fathers, no outs, no misery, no blues, nothing but boogie, boogie, boogie.
1977		Rolling Stone 22 Sept. 14: He was really straight and just startin’ to come out and boogie.
1978		S. King Stand (1990) 665: To ‘boogie down’ was to have a good time.
1997		(con. 1970s) G. Pelecanos King Suckerman (1998) 32: Needs to get down a little. Boogie.
1999		Indep. Rev. 30 June 4: Who was that gorgeous babe the quartet were boogieing on down to at a New York rock club.
2000		Guardian Weekend 19 Feb. 67: I couldn’t have boogied at the Dome.
2015		S. King Finders Keepers (2016) 289: He decided to go, and boogied.

3. (also boogey, get one’s boogies on) to dance, often energetically; thus boogeying n., dancing.

1947		Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Sl. (Supplement).
1955		(con. 1913) W. Broonzy Big Bill’s Blues 30: [W]hen I was ten years old they would do a dance that they called the boogie-woogie. Some of them would go across the floor and the others would pat their hands and say, ‘Oh let’s boogie children [. . . ].’ Everybody would woogie and say, ‘Oh yes’.
1957		Kerouac On The Road (1972) 72: If you can’t boogie I know I’ll show you how.
1974		Time 24 June 83: They are up on the seats boogieing and running around the hall.
1979		E. Torres After Hours 22: Big crowd on the floor [...] Boogeyin’.
1986		R.G. Barrett Godson 118: [I]t was time to get down and boogie.
1988		P. Califia Macho Sluts 30: Now I felt an ache in my bones from too much boogeying.
1992		D. Burke Street Talk 2 49: I’m in a dancin’ mood. I’m gonna get my boogies on tonight!
1992		R.G. Barrett White Shoes 53: They boogied to the Swinging Sidewalks’ ‘Now Now’.
1999		Indep. on Sun. 25 July 28: ‘I’ve never seen Aurelia dance before,’ she laughed. Aurelia just [...] boogied on regardless.
2001		Source Aug. 56: Some gangsta shit to boogie to.
2022		J. Hannaham Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit 292: I just stone cold boogied it [i.e. a stash of dollar bills] out my panties.

4. to go, to move, to do something quickly.

1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 35: boogedewa on out (kwn LV, mid ’60s, fr. car club sl, ? fr boogie) to leave, make an exit.
1974		Eble Campus Sl. Apr. 1: boogie – [...] Well, I have to boogie now.
1978		A. Maupin Tales of the City (1984) 193: We’ll just boogie on down to The Palms, sip Blue Moons in a window seat.
1981		J. Wambaugh Glitter Dome (1982) 98: The gook who boogied.
1982		W.D. Myers Won’t Know Till I Get There 114: ‘Just check out your heart and boogie on?’ ‘Something like that, my man,’ she said, laughing.
1987		(con. 1967) E. Spencer Welcome to Vietnam (1989) 118: You gonna punch back or boogie the fuck out?
1989		P. Munro Sl. U. 42: boogie 1. to go. 2. to do quickly.
1993		T. Jones Pugilist at Rest 85: This fucking Ford has got a blower on the engine and it can boogie.
1993		L. Rodríguez Always Running (1996) 186: I got into somone else’s car and we boogied back to the party.
1995		J. Cameron Vinnie Got Blown Away 12: Hey this Big Daddy here, time to boogie.
2000		C. Cook Robbers (2001) 206: Idea was to bag a joint in Beaumont, boogie due west to Houston.
2013		T. Robinson Hard Bounce [ebook] [W]e needed to get our asses in gear and boogie the hell on out.

In compounds

boogie board (n.) [SE board]

(orig. Aus.) a cut-down, half-sized surfboard; thus boogie-boarder n.

1990		J. Wambaugh Golden Orange (1991) 172: A legendary site for body surfers and boogie-boarders.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl.
2008		J. Keating-Velasco In His Shoes 33: Hey, Nick, wanna catch a wave on the boogie board?

boogie box (n.) [SE box/box n.¹ (4h), but given initial association of such players with African-Americans, note poss. racist implications of boogie adj.]

a large, portable cassette/tape player; also attrib.

1982		Gettysburg (PA) Times 1 June 9/1: They [i.e. high-school students] listen to big portable radios called ‘boogie boxes’ and say they ‘partied hearty’ if they enjoyed themselves at a party.
1982		G. Tate ‘Beyond the Zone of the Zero Funkativity’ in Flyboy in the Buttermilk (1992) 44: Great if you’re a breaking member of the boogie box brigade.
1987		Eble Campus Sl. Fall.
1992		G.P. Pelecanos Firing Offense 63: ‘What did he steal?’ ‘A third world briefcase, what else? [. . . .] He lost his job for a boogie box’.

boogie fever (n.)

(N.Z. prison) an intense desire to escape.

2001

D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 26/2: boogie fever n. = gate fever.

In phrases

let’s boogie

(US teen) let’s go, let’s be off.

2002

Saber ShadowKitten Annoyance 🌐 ‘Say no more,’ she told him. ‘Come on, let’s boogie.’ ‘Goodbye, Watcher,’ Spike said over his shoulder, heading out the door with the Slayer.