Green’s Dictionary of Slang

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

1856		National Intelligencer 3 Nov: The little fellow that bosses it over the crowd [F&H].
1867		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.
1871		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.
1885		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.
1889		J.K. Jerome Three Men in a Boat 55: What I had meant, of course, was that I should boss the job.
1896		Coburg Leader (Vic.) 18 Jan. 4/1: Who is that curely [sic] headed skite down Albert-street who thinks he can boss everybody.
1899		A. Binstead Houndsditch Day by Day 62: In tones of disgust the man who had bossed the collection remonstrated.
1903		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’.
1903		‘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’ .
1905		H. Green Actors’ Boarding House (1906) 74: She bossed the act, and with a hand of iron.
1913		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.
1915		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.
1916		‘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.
1918		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.
1926		J. Black You Can’t Win 24: I ‘lived at the hotel,’ had ‘nobody to boss me around’.
1930		R. Whitfield Green Ice (1988) 181: He bossed the mob-out job?
1934		H. Miller Tropic of Cancer (1963) 80: Bossing the bellhops around, ordering luncheons for his guests.
1948		C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident 50: Once you let a woman into a thing, they always wanted to boss it.
1953		J. Thompson Savage Night (1991) 111: How come he lets you boss him around?
1956		N. Algren Walk on the Wild Side 132: Doc just won’t be bossed.
1965		C. Brown Manchild in the Promised Land (1969) 58: Knoxie [...] liked to try to boss people around.
1966		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.
1966		B. Reckord Skyvers I ii: Bossed about by a duck-arsed public school bloke I ’ated.
1971		R.T. Sale Blackstone Rangers 37: ‘Come on, Rufus,’ he said. ‘Let’s go.’ ‘Big motherfucker, always bossin up on people,’ Rufus said.
1973		J. Wambaugh Onion Field 25: He knew how to boss a job when necessary.
1978		R. Caron Go-Boy! 44: Bossing the Buller at that time was a legendary guard by the name of Sergeant Tracy.
1984		‘Derek Raymond’ He Died with His Eyes Open 119: I had to boss her, if I wanted to stay where I was with her.
2004		(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.

1874		‘A.P.’ [Arthur Pember] Mysteries and Miseries 365: ‘Mary!’ exclaimed Mag, tossing her head disdainfully, ‘who’s bossing this speech—you or me?’.
1882		A. Trumble Mysteries of N.Y. 22: ‘I’m bossing this funeral, ain’t I?’.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 20 Jun. 9/2: Allpress bossed the piano.
1905		Sporting Times 13 May 1/5: ‘What is a Cathedral?’ asked the examiner. ‘A building bossed by a bishop?’.
1910		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 [...].
1934		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?’.
1937		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.

1885

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