Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to provide an excuse for.

1915		R. Lardner ‘Alibi Ike’ Coll. Short Stories (1941) 47: Well, I want to alibi Carey and I for what come off in Boston.
1926		J. Black You Can’t Win (2000) 14: I am not lugging in the fact that I was left motherless at the age of ten to alibi myself away from anything.
1927		D. Hammett ‘The Big Knockover’ Story Omnibus (1966) 293: He’s got himself all alibied up.
1944		‘F. Bonnamy’ A Rope of Sand (1947) 53: Too bad you didn’t make that offer after the storm broke. Then he could alibi you.
1958		E. Gilbert Vice Trap 73: He’s alibied pretty good.
1977		N.C. Heard When Shadows Fall 199: No smile. No kiss. [...] [H]e guessed that she must have found out about his alibiing Big Red.
2000		G. Pelecanos Shame the Devil 127: But now she won’t alibi my brother. She’d be changin’ her story.
2001		J. Stahl Plainclothes Naked (2002) 105: Mom wanted to make nice. Alibied her pride and joy.

2. to make an excuse.

1929		W.R. Burnett Little Caesar (1932) 111: If they pick me up, I’ll alibi them to death.
1947		B. Schulberg Harder They Fall (1971) 114: I can alibi a loss here and there.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Mama Black Widow 174: It was sickening the way she [...] tried to alibi away the evil things I had seen her do.
1975		L. Rosten Dear ‘Herm’ 188: She alibid all over the joint and then hollered not to blame her.
1991		B. McCarthy Vice Cop 197: Doug alibied that he was the big money man and wanted to inspect the Stradivarius personally.