Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US Und.) a moonless night.

1807

H. Tufts Autobiog. (1930) 292: Dinge signifies a dark night.

2. (also dinghe) a black person.

1848		Ladies’ Repository (N.Y.) Oct. VIII:37 316/1: Dinge, a negro man.
1903		R. McCardell Conversations of a Chorus Girl 15: Dingies [...] billed [...] as ‘Octaroon Odalisques’.
1904		‘Number 1500’ Life In Sing Sing 247: Dinge. Negro.
1908		H. Green Maison De Shine 13: ‘Is it Injuns in them islands?’ asked Mrs. de Shine doubtfully. ‘Ain’t it dinges?’ ‘Injuns and dinges, too,’ answered Susy.
1915		D. Runyon boxing report 31 Mar. [synd. col.] [headline] Law of the Ring Against [Jack] Johnson, Expert Argues / But It’s Hard to get Mental Photo of Dinge Running into Any Wild Wallops.
1918		‘A-No. 1’ Mother of the Hoboes 44: The Rating Of The Tramps 38 Shine or Dingy: colored vagabond.
1922		S. Lewis Babbitt (1974) 118: The old fashioned coon was a fine old cuss [...] but these young dinges don’t want to be porters or cotton-pickers.
1930		M. West Babe Gordon (1934) 14: A classy dinge passed them by and gave Babe the eye.
1940		E. O’Neill Iceman Cometh Act III: Can yuh beat de noive of dat dinge!
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 58/2: Dinghe. 1. A Negro, especially one of light-colored skin.
1950		P. Hoskins No Hiding Place! 190/1: Dinge. Negro.
1956		‘Ed Lacy’ Men from the Boys (1967) 91: It turned out the guy was a spick, but to me they’re all black, all dinges.
1962		R. Cook Crust on its Uppers 36: A punch-up at the jellied-eel stall with these dinges saying we were square.
1978		L. Kramer Faggots 251: He looks infinitely more attractive than that dusky dinge.
1988		(con. 1940s) C. Bram Hold Tight (1990) 19: You don’t dig dinge. That’s okay. I don’t dig crackers.
1992		D. Pinckney High Cotton (1993) 140: I would come to no good among the no accounts, [...] dinges, coons, monkeys, jungle bunnies, [...] and diamond switchers.
2006		F.X. Toole Pound for Pound 130: Bust up that fuckin dinge for me.