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According to the Online Etymological Dictionary, lam means: "flight," as in on the lam, 1897, from a U.S. slang verb meaning "to run off" (1886), of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from the first element of lambaste , which was used in British student slang for "beat" since 1590s.
7 cze 2024 · The phrase "on the lam" means to avoid capture by fleeing from law enforcement. It originated in the late 19th century and was first used by pickpockets as a signal to escape from potential danger. The word "lam" is believed to have Old English roots meaning "to beat" or "thrash," which evolved to signify escaping or running away.
“On the lam” means “to escape.” “To lam” is a slang verb used to showcase this. It’s most prevalent in the case of escaping from the police, though it may appear in other situations too. Its origins date back to Old Norse, where the verb originally meant “to beat.”
22 lip 2024 · On the lam means to be in hiding or to run away, especially to avoid being caught by the police. It’s a phrase often used when someone wants to escape from the law after doing something wrong. For example, if someone commits a crime and then leaves their town to avoid arrest, they are on the lam.
3 cze 2022 · The expression "on the lam" means that you're on the run from the law. It refers to an escaped convict or someone with a warrant for their arrest by bounty hunters or the police. "Lam" had the original meaning of "to strike."
11 paź 2024 · It refers to being on the run, typically used in the context of criminals or fugitives trying to escape law enforcement. Example: “After the robbery, the suspects went on the lam to avoid getting caught by the police.”. The phrase suggests a sense of urgency or trying to evade capture.
29 kwi 2013 · In the late 19th century, the OED says, this verb “lam” acquired a new meaning in American slang—“to run off, to escape, to ‘beat it.’ Oxford ’s earliest citation for the slang verb is from Allan Pinkerton’s book Thirty Years a Detective (1886), in a reference to a pickpocket:
