One of the prevailing slang words of the working class culture of Lower Manhattan in the late 1840s and into the period of the American Civil War. They spoke a unique slang, with phrases such as "Hi-hi," "Lam him" and "Cheese it" all derived from Irish and Cokney slang.
Strong on Music: The New York Music Scene in the Days of George Templeton Strong. Volume I: Resonances, 1838-1849. The University of Chicago Press.
Lawrence, Vera Brodsky (1988).
Line often uttered in early 1930's Hollywood gangster movies meant to "stop it" or "quit it" to cease whatever illegal activity prompts the command often when the police arrive.
'Cheesing it' is what you do when you want to get the hell out of somewhere really fast. It's most often used after something is destroyed, someone is caught red-handed, or after somebody is killed.