lizard, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

lizard n.

also lizzard

1. an inhabitant of Alabama [lizards are common in the state].

1845		St Louis (MO) Reveille 14 May 2/4: The inhabitants of [...] Alabama [are called] Lizards [DA].
1865		Jeffersonian (Stroudsburg, PA) 14 Sept. 1/4: Alabama Lizards.
1876		Somerset Herald (Somerset, PA) 12 July 1/7: The inhabitants of Alabama are Lizards.
1885		North Amer. Rev. Nov. 433: Among the rank and file, both armies, it was very general to speak of the different States they came from by their slang names. Those from [...] Alabama, Lizzards.
1897		Roanoke Times (VA) 18 June 3/2: Natives of Alabama are called ‘Lizards’ from the abundance of these creatures along the streams.
1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era.
1948		Daily Ardmoreite 11 July 21/5: The residents of Alabama have been called ‘Lizards’ [DA].

2. (Aus./N.Z.) a shepherd, a musterer, a mender of boundary fences.

1897		Worker (Brisbane) 4 Sept. 8/4: By ‘lizards’ he means musterers, sometimes he calls them ‘snails’.
1908		G. Seagram Bushmen All 127: One of the ‘lizards,’ [...] offered them the dregs of a pannikin. The term ‘lizard’ was one rather contemptuously applied to the shepherds by the horsemen.
1910		Sun. Times (Perth) 23 Jan. 2nd sect. 1/3: Did coy cocotte ever coo and cluck so sweetly in the hairy auricular organ of a well-silvered lizard down from the bush for a jag?
1933		(ref. to 1890–1910) L.G.D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs (1951) 385: Lizard – Slang for musterer.
1945		Baker Aus. Lang. 63: Shepherds have been known variously as lizards, crawlers, snails and motherers.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 70/1: lizard sheep musterer, by association with shearing handpiece of same name.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].

3. (US) an old or useless racehorse, any horse.

1907		S.E. White Arizona Nights 120: You want back that lizard you sold me. Well, wait.
1908		Sun. Times (Perth) 13 Sept. 1/1: The street bettors comment gloomily on the unprecedented lack of ‘lizards’.
1917		Van Loan ‘The Last Chance’ in Old Man Curry 102: Trying to horn his way into the Jungle Circuit with one lonely lizard.
1938		D. Runyon ‘That Ever-Loving Wife of Hymie’s’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 592: It is some broken-down lizard that he buys.
1944		D. Runyon Runyon à la Carte 43: No owner with any brains wants such a lizard as old Em in his barn.

4. a smooth and highly plausible fortune-hunter or womanizer who works his charms in the lounges of hotels, an adventurer.

1906		Sun. Times (Perth) 15 Apr. 4/8: No lizards come in to buy me wine / No suppers there are to scoff.
1909		Sun. Times (Perth) 28 Feb. 4s/9: He’s a lizard, he admits it [...] He flirts with maidens modest, maidens white and maidens brown.
1912		Ade Knocking the Neighbors 126: They effected the usual Compromise, falling gracefully into the awkward Embraces of two cornfed Lizards.
1920		Ade Hand-made Fables 16: She had played out her String with a certain Lizard.
1935		E. Pound letter Feb. in Paige (1971) 269: Alas, as you are writing English, you can’t call them there bloody gallants, ‘cake-eaters’ or ‘lizards,’ ‘dudes,’ ‘gigolos,’ ‘young scum’ (I suppose my native tongue is still more flexible than English: ‘good for nothing young sprigs,’ ‘fils à papa,’, ‘spooners,’ ‘saps’).
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 70/1: lizard [...] idler; short for ‘lounge lizard’, a lounge bar idler after women.
1990		J. Wambaugh Golden Orange (1991) 67: Look at the lizards slithering in [...] Here to ferret out some lonely old broad.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 122: He has personally fucked fourteen thousand women and is widely known as the ‘Lizard of Love’.

5. (US, also lizard-breath, lizard teeth) a contemptible or unlikeable person.

1834		W.G. Simms Guy Rivers I 72: Answer to that, Jared Bunce, you white-livered lizard.
1908		Sun. Times (Perth) 17 May 4/7: The umpire’s still in the horspittle — good enough for the lizard.
1915		G. Bronson-Howard God’s Man 52: ‘Cut it out, Arnold,’ he said; ‘call her mother a “lizard” and her friends “lizards,” but let her alone.’.
1934		Wodehouse Right Ho, Jeeves 44: ‘By Jove, Bertie,’ said the poor lizard devoutly.
1959		(con. 1940s) G. Slatter Gun in My Hand 55: Those lizards in the bottom of the German slit trench at the gate. You don’t smash at each other with mortars. You lizards got more sense.
1968		W.R. Burnett Cool Man 31: [H]e saw the strong-armed guy give a jump. ‘Where the hell are you, you old lizard?’.
1973		Eble Campus Sl. Mar. 1: blizzard – a female lizard (nerd) who is cold, not compassionate. [Ibid.] 2: lizard – a loser.
1983		C. Heath A-Team 2 (1984) 143: Take it easy, Lizard teeth. [Ibid.] 186: Catch me if you can, lizard-breath!
1998		R.G. Barrett Mud Crab Boogie (2013) [ebook] Journalists swaerming [...] in a maze of TV cameras, sound crews and other media lizards.

6. (US black) in pl., lizard-skin shoes.

1953		Kramer & Karr Teen-Age Gangs 166: Show me your best lizards.
1980		E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 110: Some terms that talk primarily about specific clothing items, such as [...] lizards (lizard-skin shoes), leather pieces (leather jackets), and so on.
1992		R.C. Cruz Straight Outta Compton 25: This man with black lizards looked at me and laughed as they went out the door.
1999		‘The Master Pimp’ Pimp’s Rap 90: He kicked it off with a pair of black lizards.

7. (Aus./US) the penis.

1969		in Girodias New Olympia Reader 794: It was almost as if I was adding a new coat of cadmium hue to Larry’s lovely lizard with each new thrust [HDAS].
1971		E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).
1983		P. Dexter God’s Pocket 222: ‘Can you smell it? It’s medicinal, like a hospital.’ [...] McKenna said, ‘It’s medicinal smell, like you cut off your fuckin’ lizard for a necklace.’.
1997		(con. 1970s) G. Pelecanos King Suckerman (1998) 20: Slide shows of bright, toothy guys with lizards hanging down to their knees.

8. (Aus. / US black) a young woman.

1907		N.Z. Truth 30 Nov. 2/3: ‘I see you with lizard o’ yours.’ ‘Lizard be damned [...] wish you’d hooked the cow instead o’ me’.
1989		Too $hort ‘Freaky Tales’ 🎵 Gave me a lizard, said her name was Laverne.

In compounds

lizard-breath/-teeth (n.)

see sense 5 above .

lot lizard (n.)

see lot lizard under -lizard sfx

In phrases

bleed the lizard (v.)

1. to urinate.

1997		P. Straub Hellfire Club 221: Dandy, he’d go with her, fact was, he had to bleed the lizard.
2006		J. Rich Warm Up the Snake 195: Another coinage I often heard on Western locations was someone excusing themselves to ‘bleed the lizard,’ that is, leave the set briefly to urinate.

2. to masturbate.

1997–99

AllAboutSex.org 🌐 ‘Words for Masturbation’ [...] 17. Bleed the lizard.

choke one’s lizard (v.) (also whip one’s...)

to masturbate.

1971		Nat. Lampoon Dec. 37: You know, whipping your lizard.
1990		(con. c.1970) G. Hasford Phantom Blooper 13: Inside the only guard bunker still standing in our area, our New Guy is busy choking his lizard.

drain the lizard (v.)

to urinate.

1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 68: drain the lizard to urinate, said of men.
2000		Gav CX Mag. Jun. 🌐 I need to drain the lizard upon arrival. When I’m in the toilet, flanked by guys with sleeveless white t-shirts and dodgy ’taches, I note that there can’t be a worse place to have your boxers on the wrong way round than in the Gents at a STEPS concert.
2005		P. Howard Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightdress 270: I storm out [...] stopping off on the way to drain the lizard.

flip the lizard (v.)

(Aus.) to masturbate.

c.1943

S .J. Baker Aus. Vulgarisms [t/s] 9: flip the lizard: To masturbate.

flog the lizard (v.)

1. (Aus.) to masturbate.

c.1943

S .J. Baker Aus. Vulgarisms [t/s] 8: drain the snake: To masturbate. [Hand-written MS addition: climb the wire, flog the lizard].

2. (Aus.) to urinate.

1963–74		B. Humphries Barry McKenzie [comic strip] in Complete Barry McKenzie (1988) 23: Do you reckon there’s time to flog the lizard before me item!
1991		Age (Melbourne) 7 Dec. 130/5: Australia has much of which to be proud [...] sink the sausage, exercise the ferret and flog the lizard.

gallop the (old) lizard (v.)

to masturbate.

1985

B. Humphries Traveller’s Tool 61: They’re lucky if they’ve got the energy to buy Playboy and gallop the lizard.

give the lizard a run (v.)

(Aus.) of a man, to have sexual intercourse.

1979

S. Finnane Game They Play in Heaven 86: Most conversations are about women [...] ‘Did you give the lizard a run, mate.’.

lizard of the law (n.)

(Aus.) a policeman.

1909

‘A “Push” Story’ in Bulletin (Sydney) 2 Sept. 17/1: Sargint Casey ’n’ two lizards uv th’ law ’ad climbed th’ stairs ’n’ pranced inter th’ room.

milk the lizard (v.)

to urinate.

2006

M. Pilcher Banana Skin Tango 9: ‘Well, if you’ll excuse me,’ he said, ‘I’m just going to milk the lizard.’.

pet the lizard (v.)

to masturbate.

2002

‘xpi3’ ‘Male & Female Masturbation Terms’ at Spankmag.com 22 Oct. 🌐 Petting the lizard.

squeeze the lizard (v.)

(Irish) to urinate.

2000

P. Howard Miseducation of Ross O’Carroll-Kelly (2004) 61: I go to squeeze the lizard. I wash my hands [...] and then, like, take out my mobile.

stroke one’s lizard (v.)

to masturbate.

1971

E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).

whip one’s lizard (v.)

see choke one’s lizard

SE in slang uses

In derivatives

lizarding (n.) [the way a lizard basks in the sun]

(Aus.) lazing.

1975

Sun (Sydney) 16 May 13/2: He likes his golf and just lizarding in the sun [AND].

In phrases

flat out like a lizard drinking (also flat out as a drinking lizard)

1. (Aus.) moving or working at great speed [play on SE flat out, recumbent].

1938		F. Clune Free and Easy Land 227: Dirty Dora was as flat out as a drinking lizard.
1945		Baker Aus. Lang. 87: Here are a few more similes snatched from our environment: [...] flat out like a lizard drinking.
1951		Mail (Adelaide) 1 Dec. 2s/5: Australians have bult up a vocabulary of some 7,000 slang words [...] ‘flat out like a lizard drinking’.
1952		J. Cleary Sundowners 213: You’ve been flat out like a lizard drinking, but this cove is right with you all the time.
1968		S. Gore Holy Smoke 80: Away they go for their quoits – flat out like a lizard drinking.
2000		Hartford Courant (CT) sect. D 5 Sept. 27/4: G’Day from Down Under [...] Learn Aussie Lingo Flat Out Like a Lizard Drinking.
2016		J. Lambert personal communication 1 Aug. Yes all is well, though I am flat out like a lizard drinking. L2 phonology course is keeping me up at nights.

2. utterly impoverished [play on flat adj.² (1)].

2018

R. O’Neill ‘Ocker’ in The Drover’s Wives (2019) 181: What with looking after the kids and the farm, she was flat out like a lizard drinking.

what’s on the rail for the lizard? [predates sense 7 above, but poss. link]

(US black) what have you got to offer? esp. in the context of money, sexual favours and other exciting, if unrespectable, pleasures.

1942		Z.N. Hurston Dust Tracks On a Road (1995) 600: Some woman or girl would come switching past the store porch and some man would call out to her, ‘Hey, Sugar! What’s on de rail for de lizard?’.
1942		Z.N. Hurston ‘Story in Harlem Sl.’ in Novels and Stories (1995) 1005: ‘Baby,’ he crooned, ‘what’s on de rail for de lizard?’.

In exclamations

lizard shit!

see shit! excl.