Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. the swelling at the base of the head of the penis.

[1833		‘I Wanted — I Could Not Tell What’ in Fal-Lal Songster in Spedding & Watt (eds) Bawdy Songbooks (2011) III 6: My daddy he bought me a knot, — / With a fan and a new fashioned fly].
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular.
1984		Partridge DSUE (8th edn) 657/1: mid-C.19–20.

2. (US) the head, esp. one that appears impenetrable by sense [SE knot, an especially hard mass of wood; later use is US black].

1905		Wash. Post 15 Jan. 4/3: The young man of tender years [...] has a vocabulary which would put Webster to shame [...] His face is his ‘mug,’ his head his ‘knot’.
1935		Lil Johnson ‘I’m Bettin’ On You’ 🎵 Now, tell your woman to don’t be so hot, / For I’m the gal that’ll crack her on her knot.
a.1954		‘Mexicana Rose’ in D. Wepman et al. Life (1976) 40: If you come up weak, I’m going for your knot and gut, / And throw you in the gutter like an ordinary slut.
1985		Run-DMC ‘King of Rock’ 🎵 We’ll reign on your brain and rock your knot.
1999		Dr Dre ‘Bang Bang’ 🎵 Now see that red dot on your knot / Bout to get your whole crew shot on.
2008		G-Unit ‘Ready or Not’ 🎵 Stop, drop, or get lead in your knot.
2011		50 Cent ‘Off & On’ 🎵 Put the strap to the back of ya knot .

3. (Aus.) a pack; thus carry/hump/push the knot, to travel with a pack [the knots that secure the pack or swag n.¹ (7)].

1910		Bulletin (Sydney) 20 Oct. 14/1: Recently met ‘Overland Jack,’ one of the toughest of the Australian prospector breed, at Marble Bar (W.A.). He had just humped the ‘knot’ from Port Darwin (Northern Territory) to Wyndham (nor’-west W.A.).
1912		Bulletin (Sydney) 26 Dec. 16/2: The ‘dinkum’ tramp – the ubiquitous, useless beer-sparrer and borrower of threepenny-bits – never becomes over-joyful, fightable or voluble. When he can’t get any more, he toddles off to his ‘knot,’ and he worries the Wowser only when he places an exorbitant value on his labor.
1939		Western Mail (Perth) 12 Oct. 10/4: For carrying the swag he had many descriptive terms [...] pushing the knot, and padding the hoof.
1955		N. Pulliam I Travelled a Lonely Land (1957) 234/2: The man on the move [...] was variously described as humping the bluey, carrying the knot, waltzing matilda, carrying the tilda, humping the hot, humping the curse, etc.
1957		J. Greenway ‘Australian Cattle Lingo’ in AS XXXIII:3 165: carry the knot, v. phr. To carry a swag.

4. (US black) a substantial roll of dollar bills.

1977		J. Allen Assault with a Deadly Weapon 162: I’m well off. I’m dressing nice and keeping a knot in my pocket.
1987		Ice-T ‘Six in the Morning’ 🎵 Gotta knot in my pocket weighin’ at least a grand.
1995		(con. 1985–90) P. Bourjois In Search of Respect 83: I was the first one of the regular crew to start working with this guy [...] Both of us used to go home with a knot [wad of bills] and save a coupla’ hundreds.
1998		Eble Campus Sl. Apr.
2007		Evidence ‘Hot & Cold’ 🎵 With a big knot from sellin’ hot rocks, duckin’ cops on hot blocks.
2012		Nicki Minaj ‘Champion’ 🎵 You can see me on a yacht, blastin’ ‘Pac, little knot, I ain’t greedy.

5. (US drugs) by ext. of sense 4, an unspecified measure of cocaine.

2014

Young Jeezy ‘Me OK’ 🎵 ‘Trap or die’, that’s me OK? / Mister Whip-a-knot-and-get-a-half-a-pie, that’s me, OK?