slap, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

slap v.

also slap along

[one’s shoes SE slap the ground; 20C+ use is UK black]

1. to move or walk quickly; thus slapping adj., moving quickly.

1837		‘The Devil and Johnny Dixon’ in Bentley’s Misc. Mar. 255: Just then I heard a horse behind me, coming on in a slapping trot.
1840		R.B. Peake Devil In London II i: I have borrowed a chay-cart and the tallow chandler’s mare, that will slap along twelve miles an hour.
1937–84		Partridge DSUE (1984) 1084/1: [...] from ca. 1825: coll. and (in C.20, nothing but) dial.
1966		J. Gaskell All Neat in Black Stockings 412: Ladders slapped off to the loo with a sullen expression growing on her mouth.

2. (orig. Aus., also slap up) to beat up, to shoot.

1871		M. Clarke Old Tales of a Young Country 56: Howe roared, ‘Slap at the beggars!’ and a tearing volley from guns and pistols rattled among the branches. [Ibid.] 64 : I slapped at him, and I believe hit him, for he staggered.
1999		J. Cameron Brown Bread in Wengen [ebook] Mickey Cousins was after slapping me up.
2015		67 ‘Hookahs’ 🎵 Live corn in my gun, suttin got bun / Suttin got slapped / Suttin got k'd.
2022		Digga D. ‘Load Up’ 🎵 You ain’t no gunman if you ain’t slapped more than one man.

3. (drugs) to adulterate, to ‘step on’.

2011

J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 59: Coupla kilos, split into samples. Ain’t been slapped.

SE in slang uses

In compounds

slaphead

see separate entries.

slapman (n.) [SE slap; i.e. his violent treatment of suspects]

(US Und.) a policeman.

1927		H. Yenne ‘Prison Lingo’ in AS II:6 282: Flat foot, slapman, gumfoot—Plain clothes man.
1931		A. Hardin ‘Volstead English’ in AS VII:2 85: Terms referring to representatives of the law: [...] Slapman.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 197/1: Slapman. (Penn., N. J., Maryland, and scattered areas) A plain-clothesman or detective.

In phrases

slap five (v.)

see under five n.²

slap ham (v.)

see under ham n.¹

slap into (v.)

to commence, to start.

1867

Kendal Mercury 9 Mar. 4/2: You idle little rascal [...] You just slap into it and get through before I come with your supper.

slap into the middle of next week

see knock into the middle of next week under knock into v.

slap skins (v.)

see under skin n.¹

slap someone’s shit away (v.) [shit n. (3i)]

(US black) to attack, physically or verbally.

1980

E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 102: Applying muscle is seen, for example, in a number of sports-related terms – [...] to slap one’s shit away, to take one to the bridge or hoop.

slap tar (v.)

see beat tar under beat v.

slap the monkey (v.)

see under monkey n.

slap the pavement (v.)

see under pavement n.

slap the salami (v.)

see under salami n.