Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. the gallows, the hangman, the hanging [Derrick, a well-known hangman at Tyburn, c.1600; he appears, inter alia, in Thomas Dekker’s The Bellman of London (1608)].

c.1600		Upon the Earl of Essex his Death [ballad] Derick, thou know’st at Coles I sav’d Thy life lost for a rape there done [N].
1608		Dekker Belman of London G1: He rides circuite with the Diuell, and Derick must be his host, and Tiburne the Inne at which he will light.
1610		Rowlands Martin Mark-all 20: Yours in the basest fashion, The Derickmans.
c.1620		J. Hall Discovery of New World Bk 2 174: Beadles, Deputy-constables, and Derick-iastroes *Hangmen, and other executioners.
1656		T. Blount Glossographia Deric [...] is with us abusively used for a Hang-man; because one of that name was not long since a famed executioner at Tiburn.
1680		‘Wiltshire Ballad’ in Ebsworth Bagford Ballads (1878) II 778: Derrick, who in June with a swing / Cur’d strange Distempers, and a String.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Derrick. The name of the finisher of the law, or hangman about the year 1608.—‘For he rides his circuit with the Devil, and Derrick must be his host, and Tiburne the inne at which he will lighte.’.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1834		‘Jack Downing’ Andrew Jackson 36: Things which, war another tu do them, wou’d make the derrick put him up jist upon the deadly never green.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn) 68: derrick [...] a hangman.

2. the penis [ext. of sense 1, i.e. with the idea of ‘lifting up’].

1980		Maledicta IV:2 (Winter) 194: The engineer [is represented] with his derrick, screwdriver, rogering iron, piston and pumphandle.
1970		‘Troy Conway’ Cunning Linguist (1973) 87: With each push, I smacked that wondrous pussy cat a good foot or two into the air. Every time she came down it was to spread wider and wider over my derrick.

3. (UK tramp) a casual ward.

1910

Derbys. Advertiser 2 Dec. 25/4: Derby casual or vagrant ward is known to the tramp as a [...] ‘derrick,’ or a ‘grubber’.

4. (US) a shoplifter, esp. a proficient one; also attrib. [ext. of sense 1, i.e. ‘lifting’].

1912		A.H. Lewis Apaches of N.Y. 128: As a derrick she’ got the Darby Kid an the best of ’em beat four ways from th’ jack.
1914		Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Sl. 28: derrick [...] Current amongst shoplifters chiefly. A ‘holster’; a ‘lifter’; a ‘booster’; an ‘elevator.’ Example: ‘The boosters are making a plunge with a derrick ben.’ In this sense it is used as an adjective, but can be transposed for ‘boosters.’.
1920		C.S. Montanye ‘Perfect Crime’ in Penzler Pulp Fiction (2007) 351: You’re too slow to swing on a derrick.
1926		Flynn’s 16 Jan. in DU.
1937		‘Boxcar Bertha’ Sister of the Road (1975) 306: shop-lifter, booster, derrick or clout. The girl who steals things from stores.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 58/1: Derrick. A shoplifter; a booster.
1960, 1975		Wentworth & Flexner DAS.