Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. hard blows, e.g. in a prizefight or fig. from a volley of bullets (see cit. 1889); thus pepperer n., a fighter or boxer, in Pepper Alley, suffering a ssuccession of blows.

1821		‘Battle’ in Fancy I XVII 407: The combatants now got into a desperate rally, and Josh, receiving the most pepper, till he put in a Gaslighter in the middle of his opponents mug.
1825		Pierce Egan’s Life in London 2 Jan. 389/2: Samson made one or two excellent stops, but nevertheless he got into Pepper Alley, and was made a member of the Turf Club, by a flooring hit .
1827		Bell’s Life in London 29 Apr. 3/1: ‘Blow my dickey,’ exclaimed Tom, ‘We’ll give him pepper’.
1832		Times 23 Aug. 4/3: Chairman.– What did they mean by giving you ‘pepper,’ as you call it? Prosecutor.– It is their slang for beating.
1836		A. Thornton Don Juan in London II 221: The friends of the chanceried gentleman then cried ‘Enough’; but the pepperer did not seem to think so.
1842		Whip & Satirist of NY & Brooklyn (NY) 1 Jan. n.p.: Dick exhibited the most punishment; that is to say, the face of Curtis had napt lots of pepper.
1845		Era (London) 26 Jan. 10/4: Lane, after administering a tidy dose of pepper, gave his man the crook, and threw him a burster.
1848		Bell’s Life in Sydney 15 July 2/2: Ruggy napped pepper and went down.
1851		Bell’s Life in Sydney 16 Aug. 2/5: His antagonist napped pepper on the frontispiece.
1855		(con. 1823) Fights for the Championship 70: Some heavy exchanges followed, in which both received pepper.
1860		Bell’s Life in Sydney 7 Apr. 4/1: Both received pepper on the nasal protruberance.
1889		B. Mitford Fire Trumpet III 79: Now then, you six, blaze a volley into that low bush [...] That’s it boys! Hurrah! We’ll give them pepper! They won’t come to close quarters, not they!
1927		(con. 1835–40) P. Herring Bold Bendigo 60: Blow me dickey! He’s a-giving him pepper.

2. serious trouble, usu. as give (someone) pepper.

1838		‘Paul Pry’ Oddities of London Life I 207: ‘I’ll appeal to the sessions,’ said the boy, ‘and, maybe, I vont give you “pepper” neither’.
c.1857		C.M. Smith Little World of London 3: [A] war-steamer is to be launched; she is pierced for 120 guns, and ‘Won’t she give the Rooshins pepper?’.
1878		‘’Arry to the Front!’ in Punch 9 Mar. 100/2: Old Beakey’s a brick, and means pepper, — there’s hopes it’ll end in a fight.
1884		Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday 7 June 44/1: ‘There’s an old act of George II that will meet the case [...] We’ll give him pepper’.
1888		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery Under Arms (1922) 113: By Jove! we shall get pepper from Sir Ferdinand when we go in.
1902		W.S. Walker Zealandia’s Guerdon 239: They got pepper for this, an’ later were sent back to Pungarehu.

3. (Aus.) in gambling, a heavy bet against.

1857

Bell’s Life in Victoria (Melbourne) 30 May 2/4: [Y]ou should give Crockford ‘pepper’ [...] ‘Give, what-is-it pepper? what is that?’ ‘Oh you know, lay all you can against him’.

4. zest, vitality; thus peppery adj [note mid-19C gambling pepper, heavy betting].

[1849		Life in Boston & N.Y. (Boston, MA) 1 Sept. n.p.: The particulars of a most diabolical piece of villiany [sic] [...] which we shall serve up with pepper-sauce in our next].
1901		‘Miles Franklin’ My Brilliant Career 71: Gertie, the boys, and myself had to perform our morning ablutions in a leaky tin dish on a stool outside the kitchen door, which on cold frosty mornings was a pretty peppery performance.
1912		Van Loan ‘Little Sunset’ in Ten-Thousand-Dollar Arm 128: For Heaven’s sake, a little pepper today! Heads up, everybody!
1925		S. Lewis Arrowsmith 84: That damn’ orchestra playing that damn’ peppery music.
1926		N. Fleischer in Ring Nov. 10: full of pepper or pep – Full of action.
1934		Z.N. Hurston Jonah’s Gourd Vine (1995) 34: She is full uh pepper.
1943		R. Brister ‘Rock-a-Bye Booby’ in Ten Detective Aces Sept. 🌐 One thing you had to hand the old boy—he had pepper.
1952		K. Vonnegut ‘Souvenir’ in Bagombo Snuff Box (1999) 96: Got a little pepper left in him, at that.
1964		A. Hine Unsinkable Molly Brown 27: I like a doxie with a bit of pepper to her.

5. (US black/teen) an attractive young woman.

1962

P. Crump Burn, Killer, Burn! 98: Wait until you see this pepper I’m meeting tonight. Hummmmmmmmm!

6. (UK drugs) heroin [the powdered drug is often light bown].

2015

86 ‘Mostman’ 🎵 I got run a white for the kiddies, that means i got pepper and salt.