Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a general term of address, often to an unknown person.

1925		D. Hammett ‘Corkscrew’ Story Omnibus (1966) 222: Do we ride out that-a-way, chief?
1937		D.L. Sayers Busman’s Honeymoon (1974) 69: Okay, chief. Here they are.
1939		V. Davis Gentlemen of the Broad Arrows 9: Do yez tink dey will turn da key on yez, Chief?
1951		J.D. Salinger Catcher in the Rye (1958) 96: ‘How old are you, chief?’ the elevator guy said.
1960		C. Himes Big Gold Dream 137: You got a cigarette, chief?
1971		N. Smith Gumshoe (1998) 124: Come on, chief, we’ve been in ten minutes.
1980		J. McClure Spike Island (1981) 295: ‘Hey, lads, pack it in!’ ‘A’right, boss! A’right, chief. . .’.
1992		K. Lette Llama Parlour 117: Sorry chief, I’m dyslexic.
2000		P. Beatty Tuff 70: If I see you out here again, chief, you gonna go down.
2006		I. Rankin Naming of the Dead ( 2007) 429: ‘Sure about this, chief?’ the driver asked.
2011		J.J. DeCeglie Drawing Dead [ebook] ‘I like ’em young too chief.’ I knew anyone who used the word ‘chief’ in a sentence was a complete fuckwit.
2012		H. Acosta ‘Doing the Job’ in ThugLit Dec. [ebook] [W]aiters who smiled a little too broadly and called you ‘chief’ and ‘hoss’.
2015		I. Welsh Decent Ride 5: Whaire is it yir gaun, chief?
2021		S.A. Crosby Razorblade Tears 165: ‘You alright, chief?’.

2. (W.I.) a potential victim of a confidence trickster, a credulous person; the term, common as a form of address, is used ironically by the con-man when he approaches the dupe.

1940, 1954		cited in Cassidy & LePage Dict. Jam. Eng. (1980).
1971		Cassidy Jamaica Talk (2nd edn) 215: There is a common phrase, ‘Chief in town, jinnal mus’ dive,’ chief meaning a gull or potential victim.

3. (US) term for a Native American, also of address; now accepted as derog.

1955

E. Hoagland Cat Man 55: White people called him ‘Chief’ like any other Indian, but the Indians had named him ‘Boss’ because he was the only one of them to reach a boss status and get paid like a boss.

4. (UK/US black) a general insult; a fool, a braggart etc.

1992		in R. Graef Living Dangerously 15: He and his mate called after me. They called me ‘Chief’ (a street insult).
1997		‘Q’ Deadmeat 254: He’s a chief.
2003		Dizzee Rascal ‘Stop Dat’ 🎵 Screw face means I’m not havin it / Screw face means I’m not a chief.
2006		G. Malkani Londonstani (2007) 15: Any of you chiefs know his mobile.
2016		Skepta ‘Lyrics’ 🎵 ? Oh blud, what a chief / Sidewinder, you got air on the roads / Eskimo Dance, you was spitting off-beat.

5. (drugs) a hallucinogenic drug, esp. LSD or mescaline [? the association of such drugs with Mexican Indians and Native Americans].

1969		R.R. Lingeman Drugs from A to Z (1970) 61: chief, the lsd-25.
1971		E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).
1982		AS LVII:4 289: A sampling of current names for varieties of LSD would include [...] the chief.
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 5: Chief — LSD; mescaline.

6. (S.Afr.) a form of address, either between those of the same race or (derog.) by whites to a black whose name they do not know.

1981		C. Hope Separate Development 65: Hop in Chief, before the cops lumber you for loitering.
1982		P. Slabolepszy Sat. Night at the Palace (1985) 14: vince: Don’t talk to me. You must get it fixed. You got some change? Hey, chief, I’m talking to you. september: (going back inside) Aikona. (He mumbles in Zulu.).
1994		on CCV TV 20 Aug. [advert] Hey chief, park it as close to the fountain as possible, lapa side [DSAE].