Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US) $1,000; usu. in multiples, e.g. 200 large etc.

1964		J.D. MacDonald Deep Blue Goodby 91: ‘There only two kinds of fakes in that area [i.e. sapphires] and the good ones come high.’ ‘How high?’ ‘Offhand, one large one’.
1975		E. Torres Carlito’s Way 28: They want twenty large right away.
1987		C. Hiaasen Double Whammy (1990) 78: The paper won’t pay me a hundred large to go fishing.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 128: You got three and a half large in yer jeans there?
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 93: Scout’s honour and seven large.
2006		C. Hiaasen Nature Girl 124: You’re not bullshitting about the twenty-five large?
2010		(con. 1973) C. Stella Johnny Porno 33: He’ll go five large above the original sticker pricer.
2012		‘Dutch’ ? (Pronounced Que) [ebook] So you was gunna gas me up to do it [i.e. a murder], and keep the hunnid large for self, huh?
2017		D. Winslow The Force [ebook] Gray Armani suit worth two large.
2020		(con. 1991-94) W. Boyle City of Margins 13: Mikey’s old man is Giuseppe, who’s in the hole to Big Time Tommy for twenty-five large.

2. £1,000; usu. in multiples.

2000		N. Barlay Crumple Zone 76: You’re saying twenty-five — — Grand, yeah, he goes, then in Joe Pesci style, Like twenny-five large.
2004		N. ‘Razor’ Smith A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun 11: When you cop thirty large the day before Christmas it does tend to lighten your mood.
2010		Codella and Bennett Alphaville (2011) 336: You fucking even speak to me again without that two large in your hand and I’ll fucking shoot you.
2013		T. Peacock More You Bet 67: ‘$1,000’ is a ‘gorilla’, or just plain ‘large’, as in ‘10 large’ for ‘$10,000’.

3. (Aus.) of a jail sentence, one year.

2003

Bug (Aus.) Sept. 🌐 I figure three large for stealing half a mill sounds about correct weight. It works out at about a year for each 170 grand she nicked.