Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(orig. US) to be scared, to be too frightened to act, to back out of something.

1934		Weseen Dict. Amer. Sl.
1950		Cornell (University) Daily Sun 24 Mar. 4: The Harvard Student Council [...] just chickened out [W&F].
1959		M. Richler Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1964) 86: The Boy Wonder, Duddy thought, would not chicken out in a situation like this.
1959		W. Brown Teen-Age Mafia 14: If she chickened, it wouldn’t be just Whitey’s belt she’d have to worry about.
1961		‘Lou Rand’ Gay Detective (2003) 26: ‘Well, look, Mr. Morley, maybe some other time —’ ‘Come on, don’t chicken.’.
1965		W. Dick Bunch of Ratbags 91: Heaver shot through on me and chickened out.
1971		(con. WWII) B. Aldiss Soldier Erect 91: How’d you like your mates to know that the great right-winger Stubbs chickened out of screwing a bibi at the last minute.
1976		M. Braly False Starts 276: I chickened at the border.
1978		R. Caron Go-Boy! 62: At the last minute I chickened out.
1986		S. King It (1987) 356: ‘Howdy Haystacks!’ he said. ‘Thought you went chicken on me.’.
1989		C. Hiaasen Skin Tight 315: That’s what happens when it blows hard – these rubes’ll chicken out at the dock.
1999		Guardian G2 28 May 7: There’s something I’m dying to say, but I chicken out at the last second.
2006		D. Mitchell Black Swan Green 29: If you chicken out you’re a homo.
2011		Eve. Standard 16 Mar. 20/1: Even if Middleton chickens out and chooses a safe option [...] there will still be much gawping.
2015		G. Disher Heat [ebook] ‘He must have chickened out and tipped off the police’.
2019		D. Winslow Border [ebook] ‘You chickening out on me? [...] Going pussy?’.
2021		L. McInerney Rules of Revelation 233: She walked [...] intending first to approach them, and then not quite chickening out but losing steam.