Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a Liverpudlian; a nickname for a Liverpudlian.

1945		Southern Daily Echo 27 Dec. 4/3: [...] ‘scouse’ – a native of Liverpool where they eat ‘scouse’ (stew).
1958		(con. 1940s) B. Behan Borstal Boy 164: Being a Scouse is like being an Irishman, in a kind of way.
1966		Sun. Times 7 Aug. 10: Call me a Liverpudlian, or even a Scouse.
1981		T. Wilkinson Down and Out 160: He looked into the Scouse’s eyes.
1984		(con. WW2) T. Jones Heart of Oak [ebook] A Liverpool voice piped up [...] ‘Freedom from fucking naval officers like Jimmy, you Welsh cunt!’ I didn’t take umbrage. Scouse never meant ill in the mess with his language.
1989		A. Higgins ‘The Bird I Fancied’ in Helsingør Station and Other Departures 169: Freddy himself, the true Scouse, drunk as a skunk and twice as sly.
1992		The Stage 5 Nov. 20/3: Nigel mansell, [...] a racing car driver and Scouse, meaning from Liverpool.
1996		(con. 1964-65) B. Thorpe Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 160: ‘Scouses from Liverpool’.
2000		G. Robson No One Likes Us, We Don’t Care 89: The tune is ‘She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain’: / would rather be a paki than a scouse, I would rather be a paki than a scouse.

2. the dialect spoken in Liverpool.

1966		T. Keyes All Night Stand 24: ‘Yeah, la. Is youse a group, den?’ said Simon in his best scouse.
1973		B.S. Johnson All Bull 155: The Liverpool [...] Irish were the mainstay of our regulars and I learned to interpret Scouse.
1984		Flame: a Life on the Game 34: Judy is scouse for a girl.
1988		(con. WWII) J. Robinson Jack and Jamie Go to War 46: The section looked on to see my reaction, which was pure dockland Scouse! ‘Shut your fucken hole, Private Lee [...] You pox-ridden bastid!’.
1996		A. Close Official and Doubtful 198: He spoke Scouse like Ringo Starr.

3. used a term of direct address.

1998

K. Sampson Awaydays 85: Come on, Scouse. You’re the boss, eh?