Georgian · word · interjection (verb phrase)
cheese it
CHEEZ itpronunciation reconstructed — no period source gives it
First recorded1811
Thieves' and street slang for 'stop it! be quiet!' and, as a warning, 'look out — run!'. Its origin is unknown (Partridge guessed a corruption of 'cease').
Where it was first recorded
Lexicon Balatronicum (Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1811 edition)
Also spelled: cheez it, chise it
In its own time
"Cheese it, Jimmie, cheese it! Here comes yer fader," he yelled.
Today
Modern exampleCheese it — the teacher's coming back down the corridor!
Fine to use today as a jokey, old-movie way to say 'scram!' or 'knock it off'.
Questions
What does cheese it mean?
Thieves' and street slang for 'stop it! be quiet!' and, as a warning, 'look out — run!'. Its origin is unknown (Partridge guessed a corruption of 'cease').
When was cheese it first used?
It is first recorded 1811 — Lexicon Balatronicum (Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1811 edition).
Can you still use cheese it today?
Fine to use today as a jokey, old-movie way to say 'scram!' or 'knock it off'.
Sources
- 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (Lexicon Balatronicum), s.v. CHEESE IT — Francis Grose et al. (Project Gutenberg #5402)
- cheese it — Merriam-Webster
- cheese it!, excl. — Green's Dictionary of Slang
- cheese it — Wiktionary
- Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (Stephen Crane) — Project Gutenberg #447
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above