Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) a conversation, an argument.

1843		J.H. Green Exposure of [...] Gambling 263: Oh, I say, old fellow, this conflab of mine was a mere romance; no such thing ever happened me.
1856		Northampton Mercury 16 Feb. 3/3: Mr Padmore [...] described the dioscussion as ‘a conflab,’ a sort of half joking, half angry sort of chaffing, a mixed medley affair.
1866		Swindon Advertiser 22 Jan. 3/2: [...] to have a glass and a pipe and to hold a conflab as to the propriety and righteousness of docking their men a shilling a week.
1873		Winfield Courier 7 Aug. 3/1: ‘Conflabs’ lively among the lawyers [DA].
1884		Arizona Champion (Peach Springs, AZ) 9 Feb. 3/1: Sam King, Conductor rainey and Dan Murphy spent two or three hours in sociable conflab.
1888		Western Kansas World 22 Dec. 4/3: In mixing himself up in our political conflab he let the enemy flank down.
1895		Luton Times 1 Nov. 5/4: He appealled to the Town Council [...] to remember those trusty allies [...] with whom they had so profictably sat in conflab.
1898		Dalles Wkly Chron. (OR) 3 Aug. 1/4: The General has had an extended conflab with Admiral Dewey.
1906		N.Z. Truth 29 Sept. 3/5: Jim the Milker Has Some Conflab with the Prophet Jeremiah.
1912		Day Book (Chicago) 1 Apr. 32/1: We weren’t a sayin’ much whil the conflab was goin’ on.
1914		J.C. Ruppenthal ‘A Word-List From Kansas’ in DN IV:ii 104: conflab, n. = Confab, conversation.
1919		Harrisburgh Teleg. (PA) 26 Sept. 13/4: [headline] Lewis Refuses to Join ‘Round Table’ Conflab.
1922		Lubbock Avalanche (TX) 20 June 5/6: [headline] State Bankers at Waco For a General Conflab.
1934		Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld) 1 Mar. 10/4: They has a bit of a conflab.
1948		Western Times 29 Oct. 2/6: Ned went straight back ’ome and had a conflab with his missis about it.
1998		B. Robinson Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman 206: There was a hell of a conflab on the landing.