subs. (colloquial).—1. Nonsense; humbug; deceit. Sometimes GAMMON AND SPINACH. NO GAMMON = no error, no lies.
[SKEAT says from Mid. Eng. Gamen = a game; but R. SHERWOOD (English Dictionary, 1660), gives ‘a beggar or seller of gammons of Bacon; and in COTGRAVE (1611), jambonnier = a beggar, also a seller of bacon, or gammons of bacon.’]
c. 1363. The Chester Plays, i. 102. This GAMMON shal begyne.
1781. G. PARKER, A View of Society, I. 208. I thought myself pretty much a master of GAMMON, but the Billingsgate eloquence of Mrs. P. …. exceeded me.
1811. GROSE and CLARKE, Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. GAMON. What rum GAMON the old file pitched to the flat; how finely the knowing old fellow humbugged the fool.
1823. G. KENT, Modern Flash Dictionary, s.v. GAMMON—Falsehood or bombast.
1828–45. HOOD, Poems (ed. 1846), vi., p. 96, ‘Ode to Rae Wilson.’
| Behold yon servitor of God and Mammon, | |
| Who, binding up his Bible with his Ledger, | |
| Blends Gospel texts with trading GAMMON. |
1836. DICKENS, Pickwick Papers, ch. xxvii. Lord bless their little hearts, they thinks its all right, and don’t know no better, but they’re the wictims o’ GAMMON, Samivel, they’re the wictims o’ GAMMON.
1837. R. H. BARHAM, The Ingoldsby Legends (The Blasphemer’s Warning).
| When each tries to humbug his dear Royal Brother, in | |
| Hopes by such ‘GAMMON’ to take one another in. |
1839. The Comic Almanack, Jan.
| But if you wish to save your bacon, | |
| Give us less GAMMON. |
1849. DICKENS, David Copperfield, ch. xxii., p. 199. ‘Oh, my goodness, how polite we are!’ exclaimed Miss Mowcher…. ‘What a world of GAMMON AND SPINNAGE it is!’
1890. HUME NISBET, Bail Up! p. 92. I’m real grit and no GAMMON.
2. (thieves’).—A confederate whose duty is to engage the attention of a victim during robbery; a BONNET (q.v.) or COVER (q.v.).
Verb (colloquial).—1. To humbug: to deceive; to take in with fibs; to KID (q.v.).
1700. A Step to the Bath [quoted in J. Ashton’s Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, v. ii., p. 111]. We went to the Groom Porters.… There was Palming, Lodging, Loaded Dice, Levant, and GAMMONING, with all the Speed imaginable.
1821. W. T. MONCRIEFF, Tom and Jerry, ii., 6. Vile I can get fifteen bob a day by GAMMONING a maim, the devil may vork for me.
1825. BUCKSTONE, The Bear Hunters, ii. There! that’s just the way she GAMMONS me at home.
1836. M. SCOTT, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. ii. ‘Why, my lad, we shall see to-morrow morning; but you GAMMONS so about the rhino, that we must prove you a bit; so Kate, my dear,’—to the pretty girl who had let me in.
1836. DICKENS, Pickwick Papers, ch. xiii. So then they pours him out a glass o’ wine, and GAMMONS him about his driving, and gets him into a reg’lar good humour.
1837. R. H. BARHAM, The Ingoldsby Legends, ‘Misadventures at Margate.’ And ’cause he GAMMONS so the flats, ve calls him Veeping Bill!
1840. HOOD, A Tale of a Trumpet. Lord Bacon couldn’t have GAMMONED her better.
1890. HUME NISBET, Bail Up! p. 70. Oh, don’t try to GAMMON me, you cunning young school-miss.
ENGLISH SYNONYMS.—To bam; to bamblustercate; to bamboozle; to bambosh; to barney; to be on the job; to best; to bilk; to blarney; to blow; to bosh; to bounce; to cob; to cod; to cog; to chaff; to come over (or the artful, or Paddy, or the old soldier over) one; to cram; to do; to do brown; to doctor; to do Taffy; to fake the kidment; to flare up; to flam; to flummox; to get at (round, or to windward of) one; to gild the pill; to give a cock’s egg; to gravel; to gull; to haze; to jimmify; to jaw; to jockey; to jolly; to kid; to make believe the moon is made of green cheese (COTGRAVE); to mogue; to palm off on; to pickle; to plant; to plum; to poke bogey (or fun) at; to promoss; to put the kibosh on; to put in the chair, cart, or basket; to pull the leg; to queer; to quiz; to roast; to roorback; to run a bluff, or the shenanigan; to sell; to send for pigeon’s milk; to sit upon; to send for oil of strappum, etc.; to shave; to slum, or slumguzzle; to smoke; to snack; to soap, soft soap, sawder, or soft sawder; to spoof; to stick; to stall; to string, or get on a string; to stuff; to sawdust, or get on sawdust and treacle; to suck; to suck up; to sugar; to swap off; to take a rise out of; to rot; to tommy-rot; to take in, or down; to take to town; to take to the fair; to tip the traveller; to try it on; to throw dust in the eyes; to throw a tub to a whale; to pepper; to throw pepper in the eyes; to use the pepper box; to whiffle; to work the poppycock racket (Irish-American). [NOTE.—Many of the foregoing are used substantively, e.g., a bam, a barney, a sell, bambosh = nonsense; deceit; a hoax, etc.]
FRENCH SYNONYMS.—Donner un pont à faucher (also, thieves’ = to lay a trap); dindonner (popular: from dindon = a gull, a gobbler); battre à la Parisienne (thieves’: = to cheat; to come the cockney); se ficher de la fiole, or de la bobine, de quelqu’un (popular: to get on with it, i.e., to try to fool); envoyer chercher le parapluie de l’escouade (military: parapluie de l’escouade = the squad’s umbrella: to send on a fool’s errand; cf., to send for pigeon’s milk, etc.); la faire à quelqu’un (popular); faucher (thieves’ = to best); enfoncer (familiar: to let in: also to surpass); cabasser (popular); monter des couleurs, le Job, or un schtosse (= to do up brown); faire le coup, or monter le coup, à quelqu’un (popular: = to take a rise); bouffer la botte (military: = to SELL (q.v.) or BILK, as a woman refusing congress after receiving the SOCKET-MONEY (q.v.) in advance); bouler (popular: also to WHOP (q.v.); être l’autre (popular: = TO GET LEFT [q.v.]); mettre dans le sac (thieves’: = to bag, i.e., to trap); coller or poser un lapin (popular: = to MAKE A HARE OF (q.v.); also more generally, to BILK [q.v.]); emblémer (thieves’: = to stick); faire voir le tour (popular: = to show how it’s done; connaitre le tour = to know the game); faire la queue à quelqu’un (popular: = to pull one’s leg); tirer la carotte (thieves’); canarder (popular: = to bring down); empaler (popular: = to stick); passer des curettes (popular: = to befool); monter une gaffe (popular: gaffe = a joke, a hoax); jobarder (popular: job = simpleton, and is the same as jobelin); mener en bateau un pante pour le refaire (thieves’: = to take a man on); monter un bateau (popular); promener quelqu’un (popular: cf., to take to town); compter des mistoufles (fam.: mistoufle = a scurvy trick) gourrer (popular: = to bosh); affluer (from flouer = to cheat, to diddle); rouster (popular and thieves’); affûter (thieves’ = to run down, also to make unlawful profits); bouler (popular); juiffer (popular = to Jew); pigeonner (popular = to PLUCK A PIGEON [q.v.]); flancher (popular = to KID [q.v.]); faire la barbe (popular = to SHAVE [q.v.]); monter or hisser un gandin (thieves’ = literally to hoist a swell); fourrer or mettre dedans (popular = to take in and do for); planter un chou (fam.); être marron (popular); interver dans les vannes (= to let oneself be sucked-up); monter un godan à quelqu’un (popular); griller quelqu’un (popular = to cuckold); passer en lunette (popular); goujonner (i.e.), to hook like a gudgeon); fourguer (thieves’ = also to FENCE [q.v.]); pousser une blague (popular = to cram); paqueliner (thieves’); se baucher (thieves’); balancer (popular).
GERMAN SYNONYMS.—Zinkennen an Almoni peloni (= to send one after Cheeks the Marine [q.v.]. Almoni and peloni are used mockingly in combination and also singly for a non-existent person); anbeulen (= to fool); jemanden arbeiten (= to haze, to cram); bekaspern, or bekaschpern, or beschwatzen (= to fool: from Heb. kosaw = to cheat).
SPANISH SYNONYMS.—Disparar (= also to talk nonsense; to blunder); hacer á uno su dominguillo, or hacer su dominguillo de uno (colloquial: dominguillo = a figure made of straw and used at bull fights to enrage the bulls); freirsela á alguno (freir = to fry: to deceive: Cf., to ROAST, or have one ON TOAST); pegar una tostada á alguno (= to put one on toast: more generally to play a practical joke); echar de baranda (= to EMBROIDER [q.v.]); bola (subs. = humbug; a hoax); borrufalla (subs. = bombast); chicolear (= to jest in gallantry); engatusar (= to rob, or hurt; also to trick without intention); candonguear (also = to jeer); abrir á chasco (also to jeer); encantar (= to enchant).
ITALIAN SYNONYMS. Ganezzarre; dar la stolfa; traversare (cf., TO COME OVER); scamuffare = to disguise oneself).
Intj. (colloquial).—Nonsense; SKITTLES! (q.v.).
1827. R. B. PEAKE, Comfortable Lodgings, i., 3. Sir H. (aside). GAMMON!
1836. M. SCOTT, Tom Cringle’s Log, ch. vii. GAMMON, tell that to the marines: you’re a spy, messmate.
1854. THACKERAY, The Rose and the Ring, p. 100. ‘Ha!’ said the King, ‘you dare to say ‘GAMMON!’ to your Sovereign do you?’
1861. A. TROLLOPE, Framley Parsonage, ch. iv. GAMMON, said Mr. Gowerby; and as he said it he looked with a kind of derisive smile into the clergyman’s face.
GAMMON AND PATTER, subs. phr. (thieves’).—1. (old).—The language used by thieves; 2. (modern).—A meeting; a PALAVER (q.v.). 3. Commonplace talk of any kind.
1789. G. PARKER, Life’s Painter, p. 150. GAMMON AND PATTER is the language of cant, spoke among themselves: when one of them speaks well, another says he GAMMONS well.
1811. GROSE and CLARKE, Lexicon Balatronicum, s.v. GAMMON AND PATTER. Common place talk of any profession.
TO GIVE (or KEEP) IN GAMMON. verb. phr. (thieves’).—To engage a person’s attention while a confederate is robbing him.
1719. CAPT. ALEX. SMITH, Thieves’ Grammar, s.v.
1821. D. HAGGART, Life, p. 51. Bagrie called the woman of the house, KEPT HER IN GAMMON in the back room, while I returned and brought off the till. Ibid., p. 68. I whidded to the Doctor and he GAVE ME GAMMON.
TO GAMMON LUSHY (or QUEER, etc.). verb. phr. (thieves’).—To feign drunkenness, sickness, etc.
TO GAMMON THE TWELVE. verb. phr. (thieves’).—To deceive the jury.
1819. J. H. VAUX, Life. A man who has been tried by a criminal court, and by a plausible defence, has induced the jury to acquit him, or to banish the capital part of the charge, and so to save his life, is said, by his associates to have GAMMONED THE TWELVE in prime twig, alluding to the number of jurymen.
