Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a £5.00 note.

1896

Mirror of Life 11 Nov. 3/3: [T]his, added to the tenners and ‘fives’ received by Solly, made the youth the richer by quite a ‘century’.

2. a five-year prison sentence.

1912		D. Lowrie My Life in Prison 281: I’m simply putting you wise to how you can get off with a five.
1930		G. Milburn ‘Toledo Slim’ in Hobo’s Hornbook 195: They sent me up the river to do my little ‘V’!
1941		V. Davis Phenomena in Crime 177: When Harry came out from his five.
1958		F. Norman Bang To Rights 150: You can get at least a five and maybe even a seven for getting captured with a shooter.
1967		P. Thomas Down These Mean Streets (1970) 246: I heard Danny get a four-to-eight and four-to-ten, and Billy get a five-to-ten.
1972		P. Fordham Inside the Und. 68: When you got a five [...] what was the use of coshing a guard.
1998		J. Hoskison Inside 22: It was a right touch, thought I was looking at a five.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 22: After coming out of the boob having done his five and a bit.

3. (Aus.) a five ounce beer glass; a serving of beer in such a glass.

1965		J. O’Grady Aussie Eng. (1966) 16: Containers run from five-ounce glasses to eighteen gallon kegs. There are middies, schooners, ponies, lady’s waists, butchers, handles, mugs, jugs, tankards, fives, sevens, pints, bottles, cans large and small, glass cans, stubbies’ .
1972		J. O’Grady It’s Your Shout Mate! 90: The various draughts were dispensed in seven, ten, fifteen, and twenty-ounce containers, called respectively sevens, middies, schooners, and pints. The timid could also get fives.

4. five minutes.

1970		T. Southern Blue Movie (1974) 66: Don’t move, Lips [...] Back to you in five.
1972		D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 196: ‘Got five?’ he said. ‘I can come back.’.
1992		J. Mowry Way Past Cool 243: Kay, man. I be there in less’n five.
2000		N. Barlay Crumple Zone 175: We’re on in five.