TO GIVE HOT-BEEF, verb. phr. (thieves’ rhyming).—To cry ‘Stop thief.’ Also BEEF (q.v.).
1879. J. W. HORSLEY, ‘Autobiography of a Thief,’ in Macmillan’s Magazine, XL., 506. He followed, giving me HOT BEEF (calling ‘Stop thief’).
TO GIVE HOT-BEEF, verb. phr. (thieves’ rhyming).—To cry ‘Stop thief.’ Also BEEF (q.v.).
1879. J. W. HORSLEY, ‘Autobiography of a Thief,’ in Macmillan’s Magazine, XL., 506. He followed, giving me HOT BEEF (calling ‘Stop thief’).
