Flappers' Dictionary (September 1922): "blouse" (to go); "sweetie"

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>1) "blouse"--Why does "Let's blouse" mean "Let's go"? -- I don't see this
>term in HDAS or Jonathon Green's _Cassell's Dictionary of Slang_.

This usage appears only in flapper-dictionaries. (^_^)

Assuming that it's not an error (typographical or otherwise) which was
copied by various newspapers etc., my best speculation is that this was
originally a military usage, with verb "blouse" meaning "put on one's
blouse [and {get ready to} go out]" (where of course "blouse" was and is
the uniform jacket worn by a US serviceman). This would be analogous to the
'intransitive' verb "suit [up]" = "put on one's suit" etc.

One of the flapper-dictionaries on the Web shows "blouse" = "leave" or so
distinguished from "blow [the joint]" = "blouse quickly" or so. FWLIW.

-- Doug Wilson