Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US Und.) money; thus lift the lush, to perform a robbery.

1843		W.T. Moncrieff Scamps of London II iii: Never mind me, smoke your pipes, dispose of your lush, and play out your game.
1845		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 11 Oct. 57/1: To use Ware’s own expression, ‘they raked hell out of the race for the lush’.
1851		‘Greenhorn’ [G. Thompson] Bristol Bill 27/1: [P]rovided no opportunity [...] offered for them to ‘lift the lush’ in their old professional manner.
1867		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 30 Nov. 2/3: [...] making their ‘lush’ by playing cribbage.