Green’s Dictionary of Slang

boss v.

also boss up (on)
[boss n.2 (1)]

1. of a person, to domineer, to order about [SE in 20C].

National Intelligencer 3 Nov: The little fellow that bosses it over the crowd [F&H].
J.R. Lowell ‘Fitz-Adam’s Story’ in Poems (2007) 581: Since I have bossed the business here, said he, / No fairer load was ever seen by me.
[US]Appleton’s Journal (N.Y.) 9 Dec. 671: The strongest propensity in a woman’s nature [...] is to want to know what is going on, and the next is to boss the job.
[Aus]Bulletin (Sydney) 2 May 6/4: The Rev. Henry Bath has been called by Providence to be president of the Wesleyan Conference, and Harry bosses people around as becomes so powerful a dignitary.
[UK]J.K. Jerome Three Men in a Boat 55: What I had meant, of course, was that I should boss the job.
[Aus]Coburg Leader (Vic.) 18 Jan. 4/1: Who is that curely [sic] headed skite down Albert-street who thinks he can boss everybody.
[UK]A. Binstead Houndsditch Day by Day 62: In tones of disgust the man who had bossed the collection remonstrated.
N. Gould Straight Goer (1915) 34: ‘There’s nothing stuck up about him [...] I thought perhaps he’d want to boss the show, but he doesn’t’.
[Aus]‘Dads Wayback’ in Sun. Times (Sydney) 1 Feb. 5/2: ‘[C]oves like McDougal is bossin’ nine out o' ten o’ ther poor parson coves in this country’ .
[US]H. Green Actors’ Boarding House (1906) 74: She bossed the act, and with a hand of iron.
[UK]A. Lunn Harrovians 257: You needn’t think just because you’re Head of the House you’re going to boss round as if you were God Almighty.
[US]G. Bronson-Howard God’s Man 250: A big Manchu Chink, six foot three with a pair of big horn spectacles on him, bossing the job.
[NZ]‘Anzac’ On the Anzac Trail 22: When we started in to boss them up they didn’t seem to know the meaning of the word ‘hustle,’ [...] truly, the army boot hath its uses.
[UK]A. Brazil Patriotic Schoolgirl 80: They had at first considered Marjorie inclined to ‘boss’, and had made her thoroughly understand that [...] such an attitude could not be tolerated.
[US]J. Black You Can’t Win 24: I ‘lived at the hotel,’ had ‘nobody to boss me around’.
[US]R. Whitfield Green Ice (1988) 181: He bossed the mob-out job?
[US]H. Miller Tropic of Cancer (1963) 80: Bossing the bellhops around, ordering luncheons for his guests.
[UK]C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident 50: Once you let a woman into a thing, they always wanted to boss it.
[US]J. Thompson Savage Night (1991) 111: How come he lets you boss him around?
[US]N. Algren Walk on the Wild Side 132: Doc just won’t be bossed.
[US]C. Brown Manchild in the Promised Land (1969) 58: Knoxie [...] liked to try to boss people around.
[Aus]J. Holledge Great Aust. Gamble 147: Stokes died in harness at his desk in one of his lucrative gambling schools he had ‘bossed’ for about 40 years.
[UK]B. Reckord Skyvers I ii: Bossed about by a duck-arsed public school bloke I ’ated.
[US]R.T. Sale Blackstone Rangers 37: ‘Come on, Rufus,’ he said. ‘Let’s go.’ ‘Big motherfucker, always bossin up on people,’ Rufus said.
[US]J. Wambaugh Onion Field 25: He knew how to boss a job when necessary.
[Can]R. Caron Go-Boy! 44: Bossing the Buller at that time was a legendary guard by the name of Sergeant Tracy.
[UK]‘Derek Raymond’ He Died with His Eyes Open 119: I had to boss her, if I wanted to stay where I was with her.
[Aus](con. 1960s-70s) T. Taylor Top Fellas 61/1: One mob bossed Flinders Street from arsehole to breakfast time.

2. of an object, to dominate, to take control of.

[US]A. Trumble Mysteries of N.Y. 22: ‘I’m bossing this funeral, ain’t I?’.
[Aus]Bulletin (Sydney) 20 Jun. 9/2: Allpress bossed the piano.
[UK]Sporting Times 13 May 1/5: ‘What is a Cathedral?’ asked the examiner. ‘A building bossed by a bishop?’.
[Aus]Bulletin (Sydney) 22 Sept. 11/1: When bold Collingwood and Nelson used to boss the narrow seas, / And to make the French and Spaniards stir their stumps [...].
[US]Z.N. Hurston Jonah’s Gourd Vine (1995) 92: ‘You mean uh whole town uh nothin’ but colored folks? Who bosses it, den?’ ‘Dey bosses it deself.’ ‘You mean dey runnin’ de town ’thout de white folks?’.
[US]Z.N. Hurston Their Eyes Were Watching God (1998) 28: De man dat built things oughta boss it.

3. to make a mess of, to spoil.

[UK] ‘’Arry on Song and Sentiment’ in Punch 14 Nov. 229/1: The bokos who try other barneys are bossing about in the dark.

In phrases

boss the show (v.) (also …the shebang) [show n. (1)]

to take charge of events.

[UK]Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.
[US]S.E. White Blazed Trail 126: I took her to a dance one night, / A mossback gave the bidding — / Silver Jack bossed the shebang, / And Big Dan played the fiddle.
[Ire]Joyce Ulysses 100: Father Coffey. I knew his name was like a coffin. Domineamine. Bully about the muzzle he looks. Bosses the show.
boss up (v.)

see separate entry.