Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. in senses of lit. or fig. movement.

2. a dram measure of gin or a dram glass; thus three-out, a glass holding a third of a measure of a liquor [three such glasses will pour out a full quartern measure].

1821		‘An Amateur’ Real Life in London I 394: The Link-boys, the Mud-larks, and the Watermen, who hang round public-house doors to feed horses, &c. club up their brads for a kevarten of Stark-naked in three outs.
1837		Dickens ‘Seven Dials’ in Slater Dickens’ Journalism I (1994) 72: Having imbibed the contents of various ‘three-outs’ of gin and bitters in the course of the morning.
1848		G.W.M. Reynolds Mysteries of London II (2nd series) 29: Many quarterns of gin dispensed in two or three ‘outs’.
1856		H. Mayhew Great World of London II 113: ‘Cads’ and ‘do-nothings’ loitering about the public-houses [...] waiting either for a job or a share of a gratuitous ‘quartern and three outs’.
1865		T. Archer Pauper, Thief and Convict 33: They never have confessed to more than ‘half a pint of four ale,’ and ‘jest the least drop – a quartern and three outs amongst three on us’ – of gin.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1933		‘William Juniper’ True Drunkard’s Delight.

3. an outside passenger on a coach.

1844

J.T.J. Hewlett Parsons and Widows (1857) 5: ‘The Exeter Highflier – one of the fastest out of London. Room for two outs and an in,’ replied the cad.

4. (US) an ex-officer.

1859		Matsell Vocabulum.
1881		Trumble Sl. Dict. (1890) 25: Outs. Ex-officers; discarded mistresses or lovers.

5. a defect, a blemish, a disadvantage.

1885		E.S. Phelps Old Maids II 48: Sound as sense! Hadn’t an out about him [DA].
1894		C.H. Hoyt A Milk White Flag Act I: What is the ‘out’ about this beautiful arrangement? Even the best things have their disadvantages.
1901		Scribner’s Mag. Apr. 418/1: There were horses of every kind—except the right kind. Each one had his own peculiar ‘out’ [DA].
1914		G.A. England ‘Rural Locutions of Maine and Northern New Hampshire’ in DN IV:ii 77: out, n. In pl. unpleasant or difficult features. ‘There’s lots of outs about his goin’ down t’Boston.’.
1917		H. Garland A Son of the Middle Border 129: Even hostling had its ‘outs,’ esp. in spring when the horses were shedding their hair [DA].

6. a loss.

1881		Bulletin (Sydney) 5 Feb. 13/2: A gentleman had dropped £50 by backing the ‘out’ at the wrong time, and he got up in disgust.
1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 190/1: Out (Peoples’). Loss. Sometimes used in the plural.
1949		L. Glassop Lucky Palmer 97: ‘Lucky’ and Max were having what ‘Lucky’ described as ‘a run of outs’.
1983		J. Byrell (con. 1959) Up the Cross 94: [T]hat was just the kick-off to this particular bout of outs.
1989		R. McDonald Rough Wallaby 210: The bookies always left Terry ‘without a mintie’, ‘with a run of outs’.

7. (US) a glare of dismissal.

1883

Louisiana Democrat 14 Feb. 1/6: Well, sir, she just raised her eyes slowly and gave me the coldest, cruelest out you ever saw in your life.

8. (US) in pl., disagreements, arguments.

1988

(con. 1940s) C. Bram Hold Tight (1990) 212: We had our outs, Juke and me.