Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to hurt badly in a boxing match or a fight.

1819		‘One of the Fancy’ Tom Crib’s Memorial to Congress 3: If to level, to punish, to ruffian mankind .
1820		Carlisle Patriot 9 Dec. 2: Hudson made a plunge with his rigjht hand upon his opponent’s face [...] followed him up to the ropes, and punished him down.
1825		N.-Y. National Advocate 3 May 2/2: Escaped from the Cock-pit in Liberty-st. while moving yesterday, three bantam Seriagapatam breed, and an English rooster, their feathers plucked, gaffs on – the rooster’s right eye a little punished – bantams plump for spring training.
1829		Pierce Egan’s Wkly Courier 22 Mar. 4/1: Now and then planting some punishing hits about his adversary’s nob.
1835		G. Kent Modern Flash Dict.
c.1840		Thackeray Mr and Mrs Frank Berry (1887) 98: 20th round. The men both dreadfully punished.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum 128: punished. Severely bruised or cut in the fight.
1866		Wild Boys of London I 151/1: Ikey Bob was good at kicking, and, having on a thick boot with a toe-plate, he punished a fellow’s shins to any extent.
1872		G.P. Burnham Memoirs of the US Secret Service 202: He contrived to punish one of the brutes to his entire content.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 21 Feb. 14/2: Johnson, a local man, and ‘Little Jemmy from New York,’ milled for £50 a side. The men fought for an hour and a quarter with desperate determination, and then Johnson, who had been terribly punished, gave in.
1890		L.A. Herald 23 July 1/2: Baker was terribly punished and lost five teeth.

2. to make inroads into, esp. a stock of food or wine.

1821		R. Waln Hermit in America on Visit to Phila. 2nd series 132: A song or six bumpers—punish the bottle—smoke cigars.
1830		Egan Finish to the Adventures of Tom and Jerry (1889) 221: Blacky punished the steaks [...] and took the lining out of a quart of porter.
1838		‘The Life and Death of Dando’ in C. Hindley James Catnach (1878) 336: One day he walk’d up to an oyster stall, / To punish the natives, large and small.
1848		Thackeray Vanity Fair III 67: But, Law bless you, I promise you, he punished my champagne, and had a party ere every night.
1851		Life in Boston & N.Y. (Boston, MA) 4 Jan. n.p.: The way the party punished the brandy and champagne was a caution.
1855		J. Brougham Basket of Chips 362: A chap tucks in a lot o’ dinner [...] punishin’ nothin’ but substantial gallops o’ meat.
1869		C.G. Leland ‘Hans Breitmman’s Christmas’ in Hans Breitmann’s Party 33: Hei! how we roosh on do liquor! — hei! how do kellners coom! / Hei! how we busted de bier kegs und poonished de Punsch a la Rhum.
1873		W.H. Thomes Slaver’s Adventures 215: Santa Cruz rum, which I can punish dreadfully when we come to close quarters.
1885		Fife Herald 14 Oct. 2/6: [I] shall stop down here and punish the old gentleman’s sherry .
1886		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 18 Dec. 2/3: He disappeared into the flies with the pitcher of beer, and when they found him he had punished it and got very full In the process.
1897		E.W. Townsend Chimmie Fadden 10: ‘De kid’s nut is cracked, and he’s punished de bot,’ I says. ‘What t’ell! He’ll be all right in de morning.’.
1898		E.S. Mott Mingled Yarn 115: The old brandy was punished.
1904		Sun. Times (Perth) 20 Mar. 5/3: The John was invited by the captain of a steamer to come down and punish a case of English ale.
1908		G.R. Bacchus Pleasure Bound ‘Afloat’ (1969) 177: Prendergast [...] punished a large cocktail severely.
1910		Bulletin (Sydney) 8 Dec. 14/3: It was a hot night, ’n’ I give you my word the missus got at that tin ’n’ punished it, while, ez fer me – ’struth, I couldn’t touch it!
1923		‘Sapper’ Jim Maitland (1953) 30: One thing the Baron did do with gusto, he punished the excellent South Sussex champagne.
1934		‘We Came to Tamichi’ in Lingenfelter et al. Songs of the Amer. West (1968) 139: For punishing booze, he can beat any baby.
1942		J.B. Priestley Black-Out in Gretley 149: The bottle of brandy they’d punished was prominent on the little table [OED].
1957		W.R. Burnett Underdog 138: [H]e was still punishing the bottle, more so than before, if anything.
1969		T. Cullen Empress Brown 181: Many stories have been told of Brown’s behaviour when drunk [...] Most of these stories are apocryphal. [...] This is not to make Brown out to be a saint, nor to deny that he punished the bottle heavily.

3. to attack, esp. in sports.

1901

Boy’s Own Paper 19 Jan. 247: Vintner got punished horribly, and so did Stokes when he was tried for a change.

4. to use something vigorously.

1897		R. Marsh Beetle 75: I knocked twice, I knocked thrice [...] If it is possible to make noise enough to waken the dead, you bet I’m on to it. And I was,—I punished that knocker!
1945		‘Henry Green’ Loving (1978) 19: This is my afternoon on in case they take it into their heads to punish the bell.
1958		Hughes & Bontemps Book of Negro Folklore 314: Young Dorsey had more in his mind than just punishing a piano.
1962		S. Longstreet Flesh Peddlers (1964) 123: Years and years, the doc says, if I don’t punish the booze too often. I’ll last.
1980		A. Payne ‘All Mod Cons’ Minder [TV script] 8: Behind the bar, an attractive girl punishing a cocktail shaker.

5. to perform, e.g. sing or play a musical instrument badly, thus ‘abusing’ it.

1956		‘James Updyke’ [W.R. Burnett] It’s Always Four O’Clock 26: [H]e just sat there with a tall drink in his hand while Frank punished ‘I Got My Love to Keep Me Warm’.
1967		Observer 17 Dec. 1/1: An old man punishing a mandolin in Bond Street.

6. (W.I., Bdos) to desire intensely.

1970

F. Collymore Notes for Gloss. of Barbadian Dial. 93: Punish. [...] But look at me here punishing for a drink.