Green’s Dictionary of Slang

drop off v.1

[fig. use of SE]

1. to die.

1697
17001750180018501900
1936
E. Settle The world in the moon 4: Fr. W. Then if the Old cruel Gentleman once drops off, the kind Young one—.
[UK]Foote Maid of Bath in Works (1799) II 208: A few feeble fellows that dropt off with the leaves in October.
[US]H.H. Brackenridge Modern Chivalry (1937) Pt II Vol. I Bk II 442: There are chimney sweepers, who think they will all go to pot, when they drop off.
[UK]Carlisle Jrnl 2 Nov. 4/2: If the old woman should drop off, I should not be very much surprised to see these two farms thrown into one.
[UK]New Sprees of London 21: This crib is kept by a notorious face maker, named Bob Dorkings, the only surviving branch of a family that have all dropped off suddenly, at hot roll time.
[UK](con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor II 468/2: All my friends is dropping off. I’m fifty-five, and they was men when I was a boy.
[UK]Sporting Times 15 Mar. 1/5: My physician says I am liable to drop off at any moment with heart disease. He gives me only a couple of months to live.
[US]E. Pound letter 26 Dec. in Paige (1971) 192: On further considerations, better not send copy Cantos to Hardy. He may drop off at any moment.
[UK]H. Ashton Doctor Serocold (1936) 149: You must be pretty busy to-day, with your partner dropping off suddenly like that.
[US]L. Pound ‘American Euphemisms for Dying’ in AS XI:3 199: Dropped off.

2. to retire.

[US]H.L. Williams Ticket-of-Leave Man 20: He dropped off a month ago and was on the pension list ever since.

3. to kill.

[US]‘Armitage Traill’ Scarface Ch. iii: Spingola had been about the first of the city’s gang leaders to enforce his power with a gun and his being dropped off so suddenly was most disconcerting to the other leaders.

SE in slang uses

In phrases

drop off the hook(s) (v.)

to die.

1840
1840185018601870188018901900191019201930
1936
[UK]Era 20 Dec. 5/4: It’s five weeks [...] since auld biddy Hoolijan tuck herself off the hooks .
[UK]Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.
[UK]Hotten Sl. Dict.
[US]Boston Wkly Globe (MA) 9 Aug. n.p.: ‘I onlly want to make sure ye don’t drop off the hooks when I show ye’.
[Aus]Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 37: Hooks, ‘dropped off the hooks,’ is dead.
[US]L. Pound ‘American Euphemisms for Dying’ in AS XI:3 199: Dropped off the hooks.