Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US, also bis, bizney, bizniz, bizz) business; also attrib.

1862		‘Artemus Ward’ Artemus Ward, His Book 222: ‘Let him fly, my child!’ said I, a-bucklin on my armer, ‘I must forth to my Biz.’.
1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 12/2: This was all in Joe’s line, and although I had made up my mind [...] never more to go on ‘crack biz,’ I was persuaded to try this.
1879		G.G. Hart E.C.B. Susan Jane 11: I know my biz.
1879		London Life 30 Aug. 3/2: We’ll play light upon the sherry, as we mean to stick to ‘biz,’ / And we know that we are certain to be deluged quite in Fiz.
1881		Bulletin (Sydney) 8 Jan. 2/1: Some straight-laced, and perhaps very good people, strongly object to the Punch and Judy show […]. We suppose, however, it’s all ‘biz’.
1887		Lantern (New Orleans, LA) 14 May 2: The Peoples’ theatre [is] doing a howling biz.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 19 Feb. 1/3: In Yankeeland a blizzard riz, / And executed fearful biz.
1895		Riverina Recorder (Moulamein, NSW) 16 Jan. 2/5: The Council mean bizz.
1899		C. Rook Hooligan Nights 24: I was well in the thick of where the lads carry on the biz.
1904		Sun. Times (Perth) 17 Jan. 12/3: Though you were running a big biz in Sydney.
1905		‘Hugh McHugh’ You Can Search Me 62: She wouldn’t be in the biz eight hours if that gold mine —.
1907		D. Stewart Shadows of the Night in Illus. Police News 17 Aug. 12/3: ‘I’m a bit of an amateur at the biz’.
1911		Gem 16 Sept. 11: ‘You mind you own bizney, Wallace!’ he snorted.
1914		Sport (Adelaide) 9 Oct. 5/2: Con says barbering is slow biz.
1916		All Abaht It Nov. 14: He’s got the biz down to a T, / Has Captain R —.
1918		G.E. Griffin ‘Rough-Rider’ Ballads of the Regiment 44: I know my busy bis.
1928		T.W.H. Crosland ‘Trade’ in Last Poems 93: I’ve done with all that, love, / Believe me. Fact is / I’m thinking of starting / A quiet little biz.
1934		H. Roth Call It Sleep (1977) 369: Mind yuh own lousy biz!
1941		F.S. Fitzgerald Last Tycoon 36: The cleverest plagiarist in the biz.
1949		F. Brown Dead Ringer 172: He’s been in carney biz since the year one.
1957		G. Kersh Fowlers End (2001) 1: One of Sam Yudenow’s shows—the cream of the biz, the top of the milk!
1962		R. Cook Crust on its Uppers 23: We were doing some biz near Munich.
1970		T. Southern Blue Movie (1974) 10: ‘Boris B.’ [...] was a film director, and he was the best in the biz.
1982		R. Dahl Revolting Rhymes n.p.: ‘Mind your own bizz,’ the Prince replied.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 34: Cops all over worked no wonders for biz.
1996		(con. 1964-65) B. Thorpe Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 134: The Johns were biz and didn’t count as sex.
2000		Hip-Hop Connection Jan. 74: A bit of the old promotor-turned-producer bizniz.
2004		C. Brookmyre Be My Enemy 225: Her biz partner and principal ally.
2005		L. Redhead Rubdown [ebook] How’d you get into the handshake biz, anyway?
2010		J. Ellroy Hilliker Curse 9: She flashed her snatch at him at some movie-biz party.
2010		L. Redhead Thrill City [ebook] Such small victories were incommensurately satisfying in the PI biz.
2013		T. Robinson Hard Bounce [ebook] We both knew some girls who worked that biz [i.e. prostitution].
2021		J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 16: I blew half the swag on Joi. I bankrolled my biz with the remainder.

2. energy, ‘hustle’.

1888

Stag Party n.p.: When the hustler of the party, full of biz, / Rushes Round.

3. as the biz, the real thing (and to be respected as such).

1882		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 28 Oct. 3/2: [T]he more of the points shown the better will be the ‘biz.’ Sabe?
1890		‘Doss Chiderdoss’ ‘Vagaries of the Vernacular’ Sporting Times 15 Mar. 1/3: Such an exclamation is supposed to be the proper ‘biz’.
1989		M. Amis London Fields 108: Short legs were shortcuts . . . Yeah. They didn’t mess about. Short legs were shortcuts to the biz.
1995		J. Cameron Vinnie Got Blown Away 18: Ronnie Good was hard, Ronnie Good was the biz.

4. a situation, with no actual economic ‘business’ attached.

1884		Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday 31 May 35/2: Ally, ole hoss, you bin a-foolin’ round this claim fur might near a year, an’ hev never yit shot off your mouth on the marrying biz.
1893		J. Tabrar [perf. Marie Lloyd] Buy Me Some Almond Rock 🎵 I heard in truth that General Boot / Is going to be M.C / And if he is, ’twill be good ‘biz’.
1917		F. Packard Adventures of Jimmie Dale 135: Blast you, Mope! [...] You’re too blamed fly! D’ye wanter queer the whole biz?
1927		(con. WW1) P. MacDonald Patrol 138: But it’s this war biz, that’s wot gets me’.
1958		K. Williams Diaries 10 Aug. 144: Peter E. gave me a lift. I told him the biz was over. He was q. understanding.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 324: Ugly biz, either way.
2008		Sun. Times (S.Afr.) 27 Jan. 22: A model with the hardest abs in the biz.

5. see business n.