read, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

read v.

1. in senses of comprehension.

(a) to understand.

1910		Magnet 3 Sept. 27: That’s how I read it.
1927		C.M. Russell Trails Plowed Under 6: How did you read my iron?
1949–51		in M. Daly Profile of Youth 236: ‘Do you read me?’ is ‘Do you understand me?’.
1960		(con. 1940s) D. MacCuish Do Not Go Gentle (1962) 117: You read me? You gawky shitheads read me loud and clear?
1975		E. Torres Carlito’s Way 21: When you’re doing time with a man you can read him faster than when you’re on the street.
1983		N. Proffitt Gardens of Stone (1985) 270: There will be no talking, no smoking, and no grab-ass. DO YOU READ ME?
2000		Hip-Hop Connection Jan./Feb. 26: We have the power to [...] see through shit and read muthafuckers.

(b) (US) to appraise, to look over.

1976		Jenkins & Shrake Limo 153: He continued to read the room. ‘This fucking place is Homewreckers Anonymous’.
1988		Eble Campus Sl. Mar. 8: read someone – look at someone carefully to evaluate sexual preferences and dispositions: Don’t look now, but that guy over there is reading you. You’re being read, probably for trash.

2. in senses of condemnation [read the riot act ].

(a) (Irish) of a priest, to censure [the practice of Catholic priests of reading out names of alleged sinners from the altar].

1961		(con. 1930s) D. Behan Teems of Times and Happy Returns 178: You will be expelled from the school and your family’s name read from the pulpit on Sunday.
1989		H. Leonard Out After Dark 18: ‘We’ll be read off the altar,’ someone said.
1993		(con. 1930s) M. Verdon Shawlies, Echo Boys, the Marsh and the Lanes 83: You wouldn’t back-answer the parish priest. Oh no. He’d read you from the pulpit.

(b) (US black/campus, also read off, read out) to reprimand.

1952		J. Jones From Here to Eternity (1998) 353: ‘Don’t bawl, for Christ sake.’ ‘Then why read me off? I’m not bawling’.
1967		M. Williams Jazz Masters 74: He scornfully read off the [band] leader and the players and sat down at the piano to demonstrate how the piece should be played.
1971		J. Bouton I’m Glad You Didn’t Take it Personally 125: [A] trio of Baseball Annies [...] read me out one night near the bullpen in Montreal.
1982		G.V. Higgins Patriot Game (1985) 5: She got all mad again and came in and started reading out Mrs. Tobin and Bishop Doherty told her to shut up, there was no need to make a big deal out a small matter.
1989		Eble Campus Sl. Mar.

In phrases

read braille (v.) [SE braille, the written language of the blind which is accessed by touch]

(US gay) to grope someone’s genitals through their clothing.

1972

B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular.

read ’em and weep (also read them and weep) [gambling jargon, to acknowledge/announce a winning hand]

(US) some unwelcome or distressing news or information, the truth; often as an imper., either delivered on retelling bad news or as a confirmation of the speaker’s superiority; the read part can change according to context (see cit. 1933).

1918		A.E. Kauffman Lost Squadron 3: ‘Arma virumque cano,’ which translated from the Siamese means, ‘Read ’em and weep.’.
1920		H. Wiley Wildcat 73: Read ’em an’ weep, – I lets it lay.
1933		C.G. Booth ‘Stag Party’ in Penzler Pulp Fiction (2006) 114: The Mayor endorses Dietrich and it’s count ’em and weep.
1947		W. Motley Knock on Any Door 173: The big guy pulled back his coat, showing a badge. ‘Read it and weep, bozo – I’m the law!’.
1952		J. Jones From Here to Eternity (1998) 153: ‘Read ’em and weep,’ Angelo chortled, triumphantly turning up the fifth club.
2000		(con. 1940s–60s) Décharné Straight from the Fridge Dad.

read one’s shirt (v.)

(orig. milit.) to check the seams of someone’s shirt for lice.

1919		Aussie (France) XI Feb. n.p.: I was surprised one day, when I was sitting on Pansy’s bed, reading my shirt, how many [chats] I had.
1927		‘Jargon of the Und.’ in DN V 462: Shirt reading, Picking the lice from garments.
1930		‘Dean Stiff’ Milk and Honey Route 212: Read your shirt – To examine your clothes for crums.
1940		C. Rawson Headless Lady (1987) 43: When you hunt for them [i.e. lice] it’s called ‘reading your shirt’.

read the maker’s name (v.)

see look at the maker’s name under look v.

read the riot act (v.) (also read the (riot) law) [the practice, before its repeal in 1973 but effectively abandoned in 19C, of reading the Riot Act (1715) to unruly crowds before attacking with police or troops if they refused to calm or disperse]

to tell off severely and threateningly.

1830		W.H. Williams Wreck II ii: amos: Why don’t ’ee take ’em up? gog: There’s too many of them. But I’ll read the Riot Act [...] Here, here! I say, this won’t do; this is an unlawful assembly.
1851		R.S. Surtees Young Tom Hall (1926) 43: Angelena [...] could read the ‘riot act’ as loudly as anybody when she had no interest in being amiable.
1877		H. Smart Bound to Win II 227: Darling expects you to read the Riot Act.
1882		Eve. Bull. (Maysville, KY) 13 Dec. 2/2: Judge Barr read the riot act to the moonshiners yesterday [...] The law gives power to the judge to inflict a fine [...] and sentence them to the pentitentiary unless [etc].
1894		Truth (Sydney) 8 Apr. 4/7: They sinned, in fact, and the old foreigner having found them ourt, read the riot act.
1900		Flynt & Walton Powers That Prey 15: I’ve got you up here to read the riot act to you, an’ you’d better read it to the rest o’ the gang.
1910		Bulletin (Sydney) 8 Sept. 13/4: [B]utter a few days old would either run away from its owner or sit up and use language that, nowadays, would bring the Health Department out to read the Riot Act.
1917		‘A-No. 1’ From Coast to Coast with Jack London 105: I came on to Boone where I was troubled by this character who tried to read me the riot act!
1932		(con. 1910s) J.T. Farrell Young Lonigan in Studs Lonigan (1936) 32: Gilly would send Doneggan up to read the riot act to us.
1938		X. Herbert Capricornia (1939) 487: Human Anger was rioting and Christian Virtue reading out the Riot Act.
1942		W. Winchell On Broadway 17 Mar. [synd. col.] The Gov’t [...] sent for the Soandso the other day and read the riot and espionage act of 1917 to him.
1957		‘Nino Culotta’ They’re a Weird Mob (1958) 69: Hold him while I read the riot act.
1959		E. De Roo Young Wolves 8: Irene was still having an argument in the kitchen. he could hear Ma plainly reading the law to her.
1963		G. Lambert Inside Daisy Clover (1966) 169: So just get in there and do as you’re told, or I’ll read you the riot act.
1979		E. Torres After Hours 251: Track him down. Read him the riot act.
1986		L. Heinemann Paco’s Story (1987) 22: The captain’d call me over and have a shit fit reading me the riot act, complete with bugged eyes and bloody foam at the mouth.
1993		A. Rodriguez Spidertown (1994) 140: Every guy I been with since has read me some riot act about how I didn’t know shit about being a woman.
2005		H. Mantel Beyond Black 124: Her dad, she said, had ‘read me the riot act’.

you wouldn’t read about it (also you wouldn’t know about it)

(orig. Aus.) a phr. describing anything amazing or unbelievable and proving that nature is infinitely more bizarre than mere art.

1953		I. Hamilton Till Human Voices Wake Us : .
1963		(con. 1944) L. Glassop Rats in New Guinea 149: ‘The 2/9th captured the New Strip all right,’ I said. ‘You wouldn’t read about it,’ said Eddie.
1963–74		B. Humphries Barry McKenzie [comic strip] in Complete Barry McKenzie (1988) 19: You wouldn’t know about it. . . [Ibid.] 20: Go on . . . you wouldn’t read about it.
1967		J. Wynnum I’m a Jack, All Right 7: ‘You wouldn’t read about it,’ he moaned.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 128/1: you wouldn’t read about it! something that amazes.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].