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 [[113]]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 [[114]]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).
2. (thieves’).—To act as bonnet (q.v.) or cover (q.v.) to a thief.
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.