Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. the place one works; see cit. c.1698 [this use has been sustained into 20C+, found outside the SE business context in a wide range of occupations, from pimping to commercial flying, in all of which the speaker terms their place of work, whether the street or an aircraft cockpit, the office].

c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: His Office, any Man’s ordinary Haunt, or Plying-place, be it Tavern, Ale-house, Gaming-house.
1885		M. Davitt Leaves from a Prison Diary I 34: A plan which he declared would not have succeeded if those whose goods were brought to his ‘office’ or ‘warehouse,’ did not believe they were about to obtain a ‘dishonest profit.’.
1919		E. Rickenbacker Fighting the Flying Circus (1965) 1: Office. The cockpit of an airplane, where the pilot sits.
1933		G.T. Fleming-Roberts ‘The Silenced Partner’ in Ten Detective Aces Oct. 🌐 Willy Morris, of the long-established confidence firm of Pollet & Morris, replied. He was seated in their ‘office’ one story above Main Street.
c.1943		‘Bill O. Lading’ You Chirped a Chinful!! n.p.: Climb Into the Office: Cockpit.
1957		D. Burley N.Y. Amsterdam News 6 July 13: Numbers runners who make the barebershop or hotel foyer their ‘offices’.
1967		M. Braly On the Yard (2002) 39: ‘We’ll rap tomorrow after breakfast.’ ‘Same office?’ ‘Now what do you think?’.
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 112: His [i.e. a male prostitute] sexual stomping ground is his office.
1997		Simon & Burns Corner (1998) 117: [of a drug-dealer’s street corner] And off he goes, a fifteen-year-old entrepreneur on his daily commute to the office.
2010		W. Ings ‘Trolling the Beat to Working the Soob’ in Int’l Jrnl Lexicog. 23:1 77: [T]he terms fuck flat, in-call, in-house, headquarters, HQ, and the officeto describe private residences from which [male sex workers] worked.
2011		G. Hayward Corruption Officer [ebk] cap. 2: We got some hennimus [Hennessy] and park in the ‘office’ the corner of 155th Street 8th Avenue, in front of the supermarket.

2. a toilet, a privy [abbr. house of office under house n.¹ ].

1727		[title] The Grand Mystery...proposals for erecting 500 Publick Offices of Ease in London and Westminster [OED].
1967–8		Baker et al. CUSS.

3. a hint, a warning, a ‘tip-off’; usu. in phrs. get/take the office, give (someone) the office [SE office, a duty to another, a service, i.e. the lookout’s duty is to give a warning].

1759		Low Life Above Stairs I v: (To the Pit) A Friendly Office you our Love may do [...] Cough, or cry Hem! should any one approach.
1796		Sporting Mag. Jan. VII 205/2: When he had the office given to him by En-l--d, he was then to win.
1809		B.H. Malkin (trans.) Adventures of Gil Blas (1822) II 131: One cannot help doing a good office, when it comes in one’s way.
1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang.
1818		Egan Boxiana II 436: The office was immediately given, when a farmer jumped into the ring, and lanced his eyes.
1824		Observer (London) 29 Nov. 4/3: Josh received the office to go forth.
1832		Egan Bk of Sports 188: The friends of Brown had the office given to them.
1846		Era (London) 15 Mar. 12/1: He seemed as if he was on the look out for some ‘office’, and the issue proved that he was not ‘wide awake’ for nothing.
1850		‘Epistle from Joe Muggins’s Dog’ in Era (London) 6 Oct. 4/1: I dar say harf a dozen different ‘offerces’ will be put about, but rely on me you shall hav it strate if its possible.
1852		G.C. Mundy Our Antipodes I 163: The gaol-bird [...] and the chain-gang desperado [...] were in possession of sufficient ‘office’ to enable them to go straight to the bush-rendezvous.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum 60: office Information conveyed by a look, word, or in any way by which the person receiving it is intelligibly impressed. ‘The cove tipped the office, and I was fly to the cop,’ the fellow gave me the hint, and then I knew it was a policeman.
1860		Bell’s Life in Sydney 7 Apr. 4/1: On our arrival there we received the office and lost no time in wending our way to the convincing ground.
1867		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 14 Sept. n.p.: It was found that the prisoners were [...] only waiting the ‘office’ of King.
1888		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery Under Arms (1922) 99: Ride about the country till I give you the office. [Ibid.] 245: How the deuce did you get the office in time?
1889		Dead Bird (Sydney) 9 Nov. 6/3: A jovial Sydney boniface ‘took the office’ about the winner of the Melbourne Cup.
1893		H. Lawson ‘A Camp-Fire Yarn’ in Roderick (1972) 140: My mate sent me the office that she was coming.
1899		C. Rook Hooligan Nights 80: I got the awfice from a toff [...] that I was wanted.
1901		B. Pain De Omnibus 36: Ike ’ad give them two men as were with ’im the office and a promise of a pot or so when the jorb were done.
1903		Bulletin (Sydney) 2 July 36/2: But Bandy couldn’t take no orfice, ’e’s such a fool.
1905		Truth (Perth) 4 Mar. 2/6: Whether he got wind about it, / Or he got the orfis / [...] / He were off in half a switch.
1908		Sporting Times 11 July 1/4: Guv’nor, I’ve got the office to put yer through it, but as I see yer’ve got a lady with yer, I’ll let it go for to-day.
1911		G. Bronson-Howard Enemy to Society 95: Le Fay leaned back a second time and stroked his moustache three times, the ‘office’ that Janissary was happy in the possession of a trilogy of tens.
1921		P. & T. Casey Gay-cat 245: It was the crook office. It told the boy he had nothing personally to fear from Strong-arm.
1934		J.L. Kuethe ‘Prison Parlance’ in AS IX:1 27: office (to get the office). To get the sign that everything is O.K.
1940		D. Maurer Big Con 167: All mobs have [...] a system of signs and signals (called ‘offices’).
1940		C. Rawson Headless Lady (1987) 34: If I don’t get the office soon, I’m blowing.
1952		C. Hamilton Men of the Und. 323: Office, A signal.
1962		Ragen & Finston World’s Toughest Prison 810: office – A warning or sign of recognition from one to another person.
1975		‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell and the Three-card Trick (1977) 59: Then they must have had the office from one of the dog-eyes for suddenly the game broke up.
2012		W. Keyser ‘Carny Lingo’ in http://goodmagic.com 🌐 Office [...] a signal that a confidence game is in progress and you’d better not say anything to queer the operation or clue the mark to his peril.

4. information (with no inference of secrecy).

1828		‘A Flat Enlightened’ Life in the West II 27: Both Bill and Jack were plied by their mutual friends to obtain the office, as it is technically called.
1832		Egan Bk of Sports 296: Neal, on ‘the office’ being given to him, left the Isle of Wight.
1921		T.A. Dorgan in Zwilling TAD Lex. (1993) 89: I had a sweet one today in the fifth — A waiter gave me the office on him — I won a grand on it and slip the waiter a yard and a half for the tip.

5. (UK/US prison) a signal.

1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 142/2: There are few ‘offices’ used by prisoners to each other, but what the ‘screws’ are ‘fly’ to.
1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 29 Sept. 24/1: Ultimately, the police gave the ‘office,’ the battle was stopped, and Nolan got the money.
1906		A.H. Lewis Confessions of a Detective 200: After that take the office from me.
1928		M.C. Sharpe Chicago May (1929) 261: Office—signal.