Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to take revenge upon.

1711		Spectator No. 174 23: Sir Roger, who, I see, thinks he has paid me off, and been very severe on the merchant .
1864		London Eve. Standard 13 Dec. 3/2: A bus driver in altercation with his conductor, who threatened him with ‘paying off’ soon.
1877		Five Years’ Penal Servitude 234: It was the work of someone he had angered by his usual brutal conduct, who had paid him off.
1903		J. London People of the Abyss 141: From that day he was a marked man, and every day, for ten years and more, he was ‘paid off’ for what he had done.
1956		J. Thompson ‘The Cellini Chalice’ in Fireworks (1988) 87: You paid me off for that whiskey deal. We’re all square now.

2. (orig. US) to recompense, to pay one’s debts; also fig. use.

1907		C. Fowler letter 16 Aug. in Tomlinson Rocky Mountain Sailor (1998) 252: The man whom they wanted for the position [...] would stand to lose by the change unless he remained out here for six months or a year, at least, and he will be ‘paid off’ within about two months, as it is .
1928		C. McKay Home to Harlem 10: Jake was paid off.
1937		F.C. Painton ‘The Devil Must Pay’ in Goodstone Pulps (1970) 18/1: If you can buy a drink, you can pay off [...] How much money have you got?
1947		I. Shulman Amboy Dukes 151: You gave Crazy a raw deal and now you’re gonna pay off.
1952		L. Hughes Laughing to Keep from Crying 42: Sonny answered the racketeers. ‘We’re paying off, ain’t we – you and the police, both? So what’s wrong?’.
1967		(con. 1940s) M. Dibner Admiral (1968) 253: Maude pointed the jagged edge of the bottle toward him. ‘Step up, you crummy bastard,’ she said. ‘I’m paying off.’.
1981		J. Ellroy Brown’s Requiem 55: Since it was an open and shut case, the cops nabbing the bombers so quick, we paid off fast.
1999		Indep. on Sun. 27 June 3: Festival regulars who had packed their raincoats [...] saw their experience pay off just before 6pm when the predicted thundery showers began.

3. (orig. US) to bribe.

1933		J. Spenser Limey 264: The boss of the shop was ‘paid off’.
1949		N. Algren Man with the Golden Arm 319: You can’t keep payin’ him off all your life.
1953		‘William Lee’ Junkie (1966) 121: Lupita pays off to operate wide open.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 225: A dozen other times I paid off on the street.
1973		E. Bunker No Beast So Fierce 215: A sensible idea would be like going back east and buying a bar, pay somebody off to keep from being extradited.
1992		K. Lette Llama Parlour 184: Abe paid off everyone imaginable to keep Pierce’s ‘wobbly’ out of the papers.

4. (US) to get one’s deserts.

1949		I. Shulman Cry Tough! 12: Kitty had given Crazy a fast deal. That was why she had to pay off, and it served her right for having made Crazy a butt and a fool.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 153/2: Pay off, v. [...] 4. To assault or kill in retribution.