Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to drink alcohol, esp. greedily.

1819		‘One of the Fancy’ Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress 21: Up he rose in a funk, lapp’d a toothful of brandy, / And to it again.
c.1850		Duncombe New and Improved Flash Dict.
1869		W. Bradwood O.V.H. II 110: The latter lapped his third go of cold gin at the bar of the Greyhound.
1881		Bulletin (Sydney) 30 Apr. 9/4: We know where there is some grand whisky in a keg—shoulder arms and we’ll lap it.
1886		‘’Arry’s Spring Thoughts’ in Punch 17 Apr. 185: And ’aving jest landed a race, I was lapping a bottle of fizz.
1891		‘’Arry on Wheels’ in Punch 7 May 217/2: We lap up a rare lot of lotion [...] in our spins out of town.
1905		‘Doss Chiderdoss’ ‘Deceptive Labels’ Sporting Times 4 Mar. 1/4: He was told ’twas labelled ‘poison,’ which but strengthened his belief / That some brand of whisky therein was on tap; / For with many ’twas a dodge to frighten off a would-be thief / Who might otherwise the precious liquor lap.
1919		‘Bartimeus’ ‘Narrative of Commander W.D. Hornby’ in Awfully Big Adventure 120: Lord knows why I should have been rammed up in bed while all you pirates lapped up bubbly and made a night of it.
1928		M. Bodenheim Georgie May 63: Lazing aroun’ [...] and lapping booze.
1935		R. Chandler ‘Nevada Gas’ in Spanish Blood (1946) 165: He lapped up too much corn getting set for the job.
1940		E. O’Neill Iceman Cometh Act IV: I’ve lapped up a gallon, but it don’t hit me right.
c.1943		‘Bill O. Lading’ You Chirped a Chinful!! n.p.: Lapping: Quaffing beer in vigorous fashion.
1957		M. Millar An Air That Kills (2016) 344: Poor old galloway, sitting down there [...] while we’re up here lapping up his liquor.

2. (UK Und.) to take, to steal.

1859		Matsell Vocabulum 50: lap [...] pick it up; to take; to steal.
1895		C. Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 44: Lap, to pick up, to steal.

3. to enjoy greatly; usu. as lap it up.

1892		E.J. Milliken ’Arry Ballads 62: I lap lemon-squash.
1902		Bulletin (Sydney) 30 Oct. 14/4: They must love something, so they lavish their affection on this large, soft infant. It is ‘Hand me my manuscript, darling,’ and ‘You may have my theory-book, dear,’ and ‘Are you going into Interpretation, duckie?’ And Tom laps it up.
1959		W. Brown Teen-Age Mafia 5: Feeding his line to the kids who lounged around the joint. They were lapping it up.
1967		J. Hibberd White with Wire Wheels (1973) 89: Boy, is she lapping it up!
1977		S. Berkoff East in Decadence and Other Plays (1985) 69: She stirred just ever so little it was but she knew I was lapping it up.
1985		S. Berkoff West in Decadence and Other Plays (1985) 120: I lap it up.
1999		K. Sampson Powder 50: Go at it, head down, live fast, lap it up.
2000		Indep. Rev. 21 Jan. 5: They will just lap it up.

4. to perform cunnilingus [note lap n.¹ /cunt-lapper n.].

1963		B. Naughton Alfie II ii: lacey: Where’d you lap it up, mate? lofty: I didn’t lap it up. I gave the young lady a lift from Sheffield.
1970		‘Troy Conway’ Cunning Linguist (1973) 100: Completely de-vodca’ed and all lapped out and licked cleaner than Lassie’s plate of Red Heart, Magda sagged against my chest.
1997		L. Pettiway Workin’ It 219: I had this bitch lap up on this pussy.

5. to be very fond of.

1993

I. Welsh Trainspotting 85: Dinnae git us wrong, ah lap the cunt up.