gammon1
/ˈɡamən
/noun [mass noun] British
1Ham which has been cured or smoked like bacon: [as modifier]: gammon steaks...
- Twelve ounce steaks are available, as are moussaka, deep fried scampi and gammon steaks, as well as a choice of reasonably-priced burgers and kebabs.
- Half an hour later, I left laden with gammon steaks, beefburgers, bacon, a side of beef, poultry, a bag of aubergines and two dozen eggs - all from local producers.
- Chicken goujons, sausage rolls and turkey gammon roasts are soon to go the way of spaghetti hoops in Hampshire's school kitchens: they will be kicked off the menu.
1.1 [count noun] The bottom piece of a side of bacon, including a hind leg: a whole gammon on the bone...
- We take pride in our home dry-cured bacon and gammons.
- Today, few of us have pans large enough in which to cook a whole gammon, or even an end of gammon on the bone.
Origin
Late 15th century (denoting the haunch of a pig): from Old Northern French gambon, from gambe 'leg'.
Rhymes
gammon2
/ˈɡamən/noun
A victory in backgammon (carrying a double score) in which the winner removes all their pieces before the loser has removed any.Earlier we mentioned briefly the possibility of gammons and backgammons, where the winner wins twice or three times the stake....
- Her probability of winning may still be far below 80%, but if she doubles, Player B will gratefully refuse and concede just a single point, rather than the two he would concede if he lost a gammon.
verb [with object]
Defeat (an opponent) with a gammon.I now roll a real caffeine-rush, high-velocity 5-5, closing him out, and gammoning him for the match....
- Players starting with less than 15 checkers in play may still be gammoned or backgammoned.
- He took down the third game, narrowly, and then I almost gammoned him again on the fourth.
Origin
Mid 18th century: apparently from Old English gamen or gamenian (see game1), with survival of the -n ending.
gammon3
/ˈɡamən/informal, dated
noun
Nonsense; rubbish: ‘That’s gammon,’ he said, ‘how much real money did you stump up?’...
- 'Come, that's gammon, Pink' said Christian.
- I wonder you will talk such gammon, I do, indeed!
verb [with object]
Hoax or deceive (someone): you’re gammoning me!...
- Again and again, he 'gammoned' me and nobody was then game to tell me that I was the unknowing victim of deceptions.
- "He was always telling interviewers about his people," said the author; "but he gammoned them."
Origin
Early 18th century: origin uncertain; the term was first used as criminals' slang in give gammon to 'give cover to a pickpocket' and keep in gammon 'distract a victim for a pickpocket'.