Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to begin a task with energy and enthusiasm.

1856		B.H. Hall College Words (rev. edn) 255: hoe in. [...] to strive vigorously.
1951		Cusack & James Come in Spinner (1960) 38: He’ll hoe in and help me with the washin’ and cleanin’ up the house and make no more bones about it than if he was sittin’ up in front of the fire watchin’ me do it, like most men.
1965		F.J. Hardy Yarns of Billy Borker 50: The old fella gives us a bit of steak and we hoe in.
1982		N. Keesing Lily on the Dustbin 123: Everyone is ‘hoeing in’ without appreciation of ‘enough is as good as a feast’.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 56/2: hoe in(to) to do something vigorously, like eating or work.
1991		B. Stewart Broken Arse II v: (Henry yelling as the screws smash him up with their batons) whimple: Henry’s out to it. egg: The screws are still hoeing in, the bastards!
1996		J. Byrell Lairs, Urgers & Coat-Tuggers 153: So it is the number two morning tea break for the slingers down on Pier 7 and Lennie Blount is hoeing into one of his ma’s pumpkin scones.
2006		P. Shannon Davey Darling 187: I hoed into my fisherman’s basket and swilled Coke.

2. to use enthusiastically.

1951		D. Stivens Jimmy Brockett 53: This day, when Bill starts puffing up his chest and offering him a possie, the old man just snorts and goes on hoeing into his roast beef.
1976		D. Ireland Glass Canoe (1982) 20: We [...] find ourselves up near the pig pens with packets of sandwiches. Which we hoe into.
1997		L. Davies Candy 254: I was hoeing into the Visa card by now.