Origin/meaning of ''giving the air''

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

In an old “Our Gang” short, Big Ears, Wheezer has overheard his parents arguing and is really upset that they’re going to get a “buh-NORSE.” He doesn’t know what it is, but it doesn’t sound good. One of the other kids, though, (Donald “Toughie” Haines) tells him that it means “His dad is giving her the air.”

I think I heard that phrase used in other “Our Gang” shorts, but it’s not something commonly heard nowadays. Any ideas on the origin?

(The closest thing I could think of was “letting in the air” in Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants,” but that’s something else.)

[Exapno_Mapcase]

I found this at a Russian American slang site:

[get the bounce] or [get the gate] {v. phr.}, {slang} 1. or [get the air] To lose one’s sweetheart; not be kept for a friend or lover. * /Joe is sad because he just got the gate from his girl./ * /Shirley was afraid she might get the air from her boyfriend if she went out with other boys while he was away./ 2. or [get the sack] also [get the hook] To be fired; lose a job. */Uncle Willie can’t keep a job; he got the sack today for sleeping on the job./ * /You’re likely to get the bounce if you are absent from work too much./ Contrast: GIVE THE BOUNCE.

[give the bounce] or [give the gate] {v. phr.}, {slang} 1. or [give the air] To stop being a friend or lover to (a person); separate from. * /Mary gave John the bounce after she saw him dating another girl./ * /Bill and Jane had an argument and Bill is giving her the gate./ 2. or [give the sack] also [give the hook] To fire from a job; dismiss. */The ball team gave Joe the gate because he never came to practice./Contrast: GET THE BOUNCE.

The meaning is clear: Air = distance, space. Can’t say much about the origin, although it appears to be just one of many variations on the basic theme.

[samclem]

Mainly used in the 1920’s. A cite can be found, in a modified usage, around 1900.