Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(orig. US black) to hurt deliberately, to assault physically and/or emotionally.

1968		‘Hy Lit’ Hy Lit’s Unbelievable Dict. of Hip Words 12: drop the dime – To fink, tell, crack on, squeal; to put the hurt on someone.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 97: You sure got the ‘hurt’ put to you.
1971		H.E. Roberts Third Ear n.p.: put a hurt v. to hit or beat up; e.g. I’m going to put a hurt on you.
1975		‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell and the Three-card Trick (1977) 133: ‘Give him a bit of a hurting, didn’t they?’ ‘Nothing too drastic. Three broken ribs, fractured cheekbone, one broken arm?’.
1975		E. Torres Carlito’s Way 70: If I had caught the dude early on, I’d a put a hurtin’ on him.
1981		S. King Roadwork in Bachman Books (1995) 424: It’s like someone put a hurtin’ on you.
1985		O. Hawkins Chili 95: Somebody’s havin’ a terrific hurt put on ’em.
1998		(con. 1986) G. Pelecanos Sweet Forever 144: Put a hurtin’ on him, though, I’ll admit to that.
1999		J. Ridley Love Is a Racket 296: Someone’s going to put the hurt on you, does it matter where?
2000		F.X. Toole Rope Burns 129: If they hang and Mookie weakens from the foul, they lose anyway, and a bad hurt could be put on Mookie besides.
2000		G. Pelecanos Shame the Devil 251: Hard to believe a man wearin’ eyeliner could put a hurtin’ on another man like that.
2004		J. Ellroy ‘Hollywood Fuck Pad’ in Destination: Morgue! (2004) 238: If you see that fucked-up snitch of mine [...] put some hurt on him.
2008		G. Pelecanos Way Home (2009) 17: The Isuzu was a tank. Shoot, it had put a hurtin on a Volvo.
2013		T. Robinson Hard Bounce [ebook] ’‘You like to put the hurt on little girls? Huh?