hurry-up, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

hurry-up n.

1. (Aus.) a supposed ‘medicine’ that offers one instant acceleration.

1913

Sport (Adelaide) 23 Aug. 9/3: Ally Mac played on the wing [...] and he was too fast for the ball. You must have taken a packet of hurry up, Ally .

2. anything or anyone that goes fast.

2001

(con. 1975–6) E. Little Steel Toes 87: I’m gonna head for the East Coast quick like a hurry-up once I get my dough.

3. an emergency, a sense of urgency.

1921		(con. WWI) E. Lynch Somme Mud 204: Our rifles and machine-guns are spluttering at top speed, giving them [i.e. the Germans] some hurry-up.
1924		(con. WWI) A.G. Pretty Gloss. of Sl. [...] in the A.I.F. 1921–1924 (rev. t/s) n.p.: hurry up. Vigorous banter; forced to travel with greater rapidity than was intended.
1952		W.R. Burnett Little Men, Big World 58: [He] handed Zand a slip of paper on which was the location of his box at the ball park, just in case he might get a hurry-up from the Mover.
1986		R.G. Barrett Godson : .
1992		M. Coleman Fatty 63: We got the electric eel up the drain and the agent is giving Max a hurry-up.

4. (US) a request for money; thus on the hurry-up, begging.

1908

R. Beach Barrier 143: No more hard-luck stories and ‘hurry-ups’ for me....No busted miners need apply [HDAS].

5. (US) a romantic proposition.

1948

J.V. Maresca My Flag is Down 30: And I thought I’d heard everything in the way of a hurry-up pitch [HDAS].

6. (N.Z. prison) a reprimand, a telling-off.

1982

G. Newbold Big Huey 249: hurry-up (n) Reprimand, chastisement.

7. (Aus.) aggressive, enthusiastic treatment.

1967		J. Wynnum I’m a Jack, All Right 89: He might have given it [i.e. a wisteria] a bit of a hurry up, but [...] there’s been no real permanent damage done.
1986		R.G. Barrett Godson : ‘I reckon me and Peregrine’ll give this five grand some hurry up’.

In compounds

hurry-up wagon (n.) (also hurry-up van, hurry wagon) [the speed with which it is driven]

(US) a police van or car.

1893		W.K. Post Harvard Stories 118: The manager was crazy, and told him to send for a hurry-up wagon, and run us all in.
1894		Maitland Dly Mercury (NSW) 7 May 2/2: Some of the wounded had to be sent to the Receiving Hospital in the hurry-up waggon.
1900		Ade More Fables in Sl. (1960) 120: The Hideous Degradation of being [...] slammed into the Hurry-Up Wagon.
1903		Coshocton (OH) Daily Age 22 June 6/4: It’s only the hurry-up wagon foe a couple of shakes that was fighting.
1904		Eve. Jrnl (Adelaide) 30 Apr. 2/6: The general opinion was that there would be sensational developments. ‘Will they take him away in a hurry-up wagon?’ whispered one.
1910		Sun (Sydney) 20 Oct. 5/3: He is [...] dragged over to the patrol box, where an alarm is sent in for ‘the hurry-up waggon’.
1912		C. Siringo Cowboy Detective 12: Shortly after, I had a nice free buggy ride in the ‘hurry up’ wagon and was put behind steel bars.
1913		H.G. Van Campen ‘Life on Broadway’ in McClure’s Mag. Mar. 38/2: A man hates a scene, or the hurryup’d be clangin’ up to our flat twice a day.
1928		M.C. Sharpe Chicago May (1929) 297: I was taken to the County Jail into the hurry-up wagon.
c.1930		Carl Sandburg ‘This Mornin, This Evenin, So Soon’ 🎵 They brought Bill home in a hurry-up wagon this mornin’.
1943		Copper Camp 191: A frantic bartender called the police and Callahan was once more looking out of the hurry-up wagon on his way to the City Hall [DA].
1956		N. Algren Walk on the Wild Side 196: Soon or late the hour would come when the hurry-up wagon would haul girls with pride and girls with none.
1959		F. Norman in Encounter n.d. in Norman’s London (1969) 59: To tell yer the truth I thought he sussed (suspected) there was something buzzing (going on). And I expected him to get on the blower (phone) to the nick (police station) and ask them to send the hurry-up (police car).
1967		‘Whisper All Aussie Dict.’ in Kings Cross Whisper (Sydney) xxxv 6/2: hurry up van: Police trawler.
1970		D. Ponicsan Last Detail 175: ‘Oh, they brought Bill home in a hurryup wagon, this morning, this evening, so soon,’ Mule sings.
1996		Isobel Campbell Modern Homes 🌐 Once, in the hot summer, when Doris decided to skip packaging and model her new fur-lined raincoat without delay her Gran became so exasperated that she told her the Hurry-up van would come and get her. But it never did.

In phrases

bit of a hurry-up (n.)

(Aus.) a rushed piece of work.

1951

E. Hill Territory 443: A bit of hurry-up: A hasty or scamped job.

give someone a bit of hurry-up (v.)

(Aus.) to stimulate, to encourage to act more energetically.

1915		I.A. Williams diary 18 Nov. 🌐 Abdul gave us some ‘hurry up’.
1916		O. Hogue Trooper Bluegum at Dardanelles 171: We were giving Abdul a ‘bit of hurry-up’ at Quinn’s .
1924		A.W. Bazley et al. Gloss. Sl. A.I.F. n.p.: [t/s] Hurry up, vigorous banter; forced to travel with greater rapidity than was intended [AND].
1954		H.G. Lamond Manx Star 164: If those men are in position we’ll give ’em some hurry-up [AND].
1965		Tracks we Travel 128: The young bloke’s giving him a bit of hurry-up [AND].

give someone the hurry-up (v.)

(US) to eject.

1907

Wenatchee Dly World (WA) 30 Sept. 4/2: He had the confidence of many [...] Barkeeps and could give the Hurry-Up to any well-known Gam.

on the hurry-up

at great speed, in a hurry.

1952		‘I was a Pickpocket’ in C. Hamilton Men of the Und. 77: It was only when I was on the ‘hurry-up’ [...] that I worked alone.
1962		R. Cook Crust on its Uppers 47: They whipped him down to the nick on the hurry-up.
1979		F. Norman Too Many Crooks Spoil the Caper 17: Louie had to scarper on the hurry-up.
1984		‘Derek Raymond’ He Died with His Eyes Open 152: You’d better come over to Soho on the hurry up.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 258: That thing we discussed last night [...] Soon as. On the hurry-up. Okay?