Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (UK Und.) a thief of parcels or packages; ‘he that stealeth or prowleth any plate, jewels, bolts of satin, velvet or such parcels from any place ...’ (Greene, 2nd part of Coney-Catching, 1591); a shoplifter or pickpocket.

1591		Greene Second Part of Conny-Catching in Grosart (1881–3) X 118: The Lift is he that stealeth or prowleth any Plate, Juells, bolts of Satten, Veluet or such parcels from any place, by a fluight conueyance vnder his cloke, or so secretly that it may not be espyed.
1608		Dekker Belman of London G3: He that first stealeth the parcell, is called The Lift.
1610		Rowlands Martin Mark-all 53: He likewise ordered that all high lawyers, padders, Lifts, Foists, Cheaters or Cony-catchers, shal not presume to purchase any landes or reuenues.
1620		J. Melton Astrologaster 10: Leauing not a Pick-pockets, Gilts, Lifts, Decoyes, or Dyvers Hose vnsurueyed.
1630		J. Taylor ‘Travels of Twelve-pence’ in Works (1869) I 71: To Sharkes, Stales, Nims, Lifts, Foysts, Cheats, Stands, Decoyes / T’a Cut-purse, and a pocket picking Hound.
1674		Head Canting Academy (2nd edn) 28: A whole gang of rogues, distinguished by Files, Lifts, Gilts, Budges, Runners, Heavers, &c.
1718		C. Hitchin Regulator 19: A Lift, alias Shop-Lifter.
1753		J. Poulter Discoveries (1774) 29: To caution all Shopkeepers and Salesmen against Shoplifters of both Sexes [...] There shall be generally three Persons together, called in Cant Prigger Lifts or Files.
1768		(con. 1710–25) Tyburn Chronicle II in Groom (1999) xxvii: A Lift A Shop-lifter, one that steals Goods in a Shop under Pretence of buying them.
1777		J. Fielding Thieving Detected 49: It is customary for a good Lift to get in the course of four or five hours, half a dozen cards of lace, two or three whole pieces of linen, cambrick or muslin, ten or twelve roles of ribbon, jewellery goods a great number.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).

2. theft, burglary, shop lifting.

1592		Greene Quip for an Upstart Courtier in Hindley Old Book Collector’s Misc. (1871) 28: Such young youths [...] fall then to privy lifts and cozenages.
1614		Jonson Bartholomew Fair IV iv: Whit, bid Val Cutting continue the vapours for a lift, Whit, for a lift.
1621		Jonson Gypsies Metamorphosed 10: For the Linnens we still vsd the lifte and with the hedge (our Trades increase) made shifte.
1688		J. Shirley Triumph of Wit 205: The Upright Man, who being chosen for his Strength, Archness, and Policy in bringing them off at a dead Lift, is stiled their Chief.
1777		J. Fielding Thieving Detected 48: The Lift or Hoist. Shoplifting, of all the other branches of thieving, is he most pernicious and destructive to tradesmen.
a.1790		H.T. Potter New Dict. Cant (1795) n.p.: lift, or hoist shop-lifting, or robbing a shop.
c.1800		‘Tom the Drover’ No. 30 Papers of Francis Place (1819) n.p.: Suk’ May, she’s a saucy blowen, [...] / At the knuckle, or the lift none so clever.
1809		G. Andrewes Dict. Sl. and Cant.
1821		Flash Dict.
1835		G. Kent Modern Flash Dict.
1848		‘Ned Buntline’ Mysteries and Miseries of N.Y. I 40: When I hear of the boys making a large lift, I always envy them.
1852		R.G. Porter ‘The Snapping Turtle’ in Southern Journal Monticelo, Missip. 13 Mar. 1: Whenever a sly attempt was made to give the book a lift.
1853		Greenock Advertiser 28 June 4/2: When a ‘bludjeter’ and the ‘picking-up Moll’ have succeeded in making a good ‘lift’ they immediately leave the town.
1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor III 386/2: She went on the lift in London (shopping and stealing from the counter).
1872		G.P. Burnham Memoirs of the US Secret Service 95: He made a big ‘lift’ at the Wolfboro’, N.H., Bank.
1885		M. Davitt Leaves from a Prison Diary I 24: Such recent burglaries or clever ‘lifts’ as may have excited unuual interest in the public press.
1916		J. Lait ‘Canada Kid’ in Beef, Iron and Wine (1917) 162: It’s a dirty shame after I done swell lifts for years and bulled the swellest bulls outta the Chief’s office, to get picked up by a flatfoot in harness.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 125/2: Lift, n. 1. Pocket picking. [...] 2. Truck robbery [...] 3. Shoplifting. 4. Armed robbery.

3. a punch.

1884		Sporting Times 4 Oct. 7/1: A picture [...] to show where the Mahdi stood when Gordon gave him a lift under the eye .
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 1 Aug. 9/1: You could mark the merry manner in which they handed about the ginger-beer bottle with the rum in it, and the initiated could mark how ‘Hemmy’ got a ‘lift under the ear’ for taking too excessive a ‘suck’ at the same ambrosial flask.
1899		H.E. Hamblen Yarn of Bucko Mate 220: He proposed to argue the point with me, but I gave him a Western Ocean lift under the ear.
1903		J. Furphy Such is Life 223: That Martin wants a lift under the ear.

4. an improvement in (financial) circumstances; a raise in salary.

1895		Mirror of Life 10/3: [H]e was stone-motherless broke,' and wanted to get a lift.
1911		S. Ford Torchy 36: ‘Get a lift every quarter, though, I suppose?’ says I. ‘I’m getting the same salary I began with.’.

5. (orig. US) the effects of intoxication from alcohol or drugs.

1953		S. Sterling ‘The Kiss and Tell Murders’ Popular Detective May 🌐 Worrying about your ‘lift’? [...] There’s a doc who’s a pal of mine. If you feel like breaking the habit [...] but he could help you get off it.
1953		W. Brown Monkey On My Back (1954) 185: He got a ‘lift’ from the morphine. It made everything ‘rosy’ and peaceful.
1964		‘Charles Barrett’ Address: Kings Cross 75: The ‘lift’ carried me right through the night’s work, making me feel gayer, more witty and more charming than ever before.
1965		H. Huncke ‘Frisky’ in Huncke’s Journal (1998) 35: I was feeling nervous and it occurred to me that possibly I’d get a lift.
2015		Baltimore Sun (MD) 15 Apr. T29/2: It’s really the kind of shit that I hate — big lift, big crash, all quick.

6. (US) a task, a responsibility; an effort.

2022		A. Kirzman Giuliani 273: Lutsenko’s advice was to get the American government to open up an investigation of its own [...] It was a huge lift.
2022		M. Haberman Confidence Man 17: Even by Moses’s standards, this project was a particularly heavy lift; it had come to fruition only after decades of failed attempts to link the two boroughs.

7. see lift pill

8. see lifter n. (2)