sham
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cham
A shortening of "champagne." A: "Can I get another glass of this cham? It's delicious!" B: "Yeah, and it's also $200 a bottle!" Waiter, two glasses of cham, please—we're celebrating. I'm not a big drinker, but I will have a glass of cham in honor of this special occasion.
sham Abraham
obsolete To feign mental or physical illness or distress, so as to avoid work. Used especially among seamen. "Abraham men" were a class of beggars who would roam the country pretending madness so that strangers might take pity on them and offer them alms. It came to light that the boatswain had shammed Abraham, under the pretenses of consumption or some such wasting illness, so that he might remain at shore and drink up the profits from his previous voyage. He tore off his clothes and raved like a lunatic, but I could tell by the clarity in his eye that he was shamming Abraham to avoid conscription into the local militia.
sham Abram
obsolete To feign mental or physical illness or distress, so as to avoid work. Used especially among seamen. "Abram men" were a class of beggars who would roam the country pretending madness so that strangers might take pity on them and offer them alms. It came to light that the boatswain had shammed Abram, under the pretenses of consumption or some such wasting illness, so that he might remain at shore and drink up the profits from his previous voyage. He tore off his clothes and raved like a lunatic, but I could tell by the clarity in his eye that he was shamming Abram to avoid conscription into the local militia.
See also: sham
sham marriage
A legal marriage that happens primarily or solely for practical purposes, rather than love. Any couple suspected of entering into a sham marriage to bypass the need for work permits may be investigated and have their marriage license revoked at any time. Back when homosexuality was illegal, many gay men and women entered into sham marriages to protect them from public scrutiny.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
cham
and chammy and sham and shammy (ʃæm(i)) n. champagne. Would you like a little more shammy? I want the biggest bottle of cham you got!
sham
verbSee cham
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.