a person who is easily cheated or outsmarted, especially an inexperienced speculator.
lamb n.1[note Williams for 17C use of
1. a simpleton, a fool, esp. one easily cheated of their money; also attrib.
| ‘No Meat Like Mutton’ in Fanny Hill’s Bang-Up Reciter in Spedding & Watt (eds) Bawdy Songbooks (2011) III 312: You cannot tell the number of half the lambs you meet! / You may have your choice of fat or lean, they’ll never take affront, / And suit your taste and pocket with a prime bit of — mutton! |
| Man of Pleasure’s Illus. Pocket-book n.p.: FRENCH INTRODUCING HOUSES. […] The neighbourhood of Leicester Square […] Covent Garden; […] Fitzroy Square — are localities were these importers of French mutton, lamb, and chicken set up their shambles. |
| N.E. Police Gaz. (Boston, MA) 5 Oct. 8/3: Banner, with motto ‘Sheep’s meat too good for niggers’]. |
3. (US) a young woman, a girlfriend.
| Boston Blade (Boston, MA) 10 June n.p.: I’m Mose’s prize lamb, and nothin’ shorter. |
| Nat. Police Gaz. 20 Oct. 6/4: [headline] Rev. Myers ‘Skips’ with a Lamb’ […] the elopement of the Rev. W.H. Myers, a Methodist clergyman […] with Mrs Ralph Price, the young wife of a paperhanger. |
4. a rough, a thug, orig. recruited from followers of the local prizefighter William Thomson, aka ‘Bendigo’ (1811-80).
| Sportsman 3 Nov. 2/1: Notes on News […] The Sheffielders, following the role of the Nottingham ‘lambs,’ afterwards so charmingly illustrated by the rowdies of the London ring [etc]. |
| Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack 260: One of two Nottingham ‘lambs,’ i.e., roughs, who were looking on. |
5. ext. of sense 1, a womaniser, or one who poses as such.
| [perf. Ella Shields] ‘Oh, the baa-baa-baa lambs’ Twenty up to forty, looking a trifle naughty / Up comes Mary, then all the lambs youll find / Going baa-baa, baa-baa and wagging their tails behind. |
6. (mainly US prison, also kid lamb) a young homosexual boy, esp. one who accompanies a tramp.
| Hobo 99: The term ‘punk’ […] had a special meaning at one time but is beginning to have a milder and more general use and the term ‘lamb’ is taking its place. |
| Boy and Girl Tramps of America (1976) 143: I have seen wolves and their little ‘lambs’ or ‘fairies,’ and their relationship seems to be one of mutual satisfaction. |
| ‘Lang. of Homosexuality’ Appendix VII in Henry Sex Variants. |
| Crime in S. Afr. 106: an ‘Angelina’, a ‘chicken’, or a ‘lamb’ is a boy who travels around with an older tramp for homosexual purposes. |
| Women’s Prison 191: [ref. to male prisons] Some wolves […] ply the prospective punk, kid or lamb […] with gifts and favors. |
| Maledicta III:2 221: Only a criminal might know that a lamb is a chicken who is the victim of some kid-simple prison pedicator, a rapacious jocker or wolf. |
7. (US black) an innocent.
| Orig. Hbk of Harlem Jive 25: A Lamb’s unhipped beg on Santa’s fine sack. |
| (con. early 1930s) Harlem Glory (1990) 52: Oh, jest listen to the lamb […] why, man, every time that woman looks at you I sees love shining in her eyes. |
| Rally Round the Flag, Boys! (1959) 11: The New York commuters, also called the lambs, or the pigeons, or the patsies. |
What is a lamb in slang?
FAQ
What does lamb mean?
Why do people say be a lamb?
What does the nickname lamb mean?
What does little lamb mean in slang?
What is the difference between on the Lam and on the Lamb?
“On The Lam” Vs. “On The Lamb” “On the lam” means that someone is running away from something, usually the police as we’ve mentioned throughout this article. “On the lamb” is a misinterpretation of the phrase and is incorrect.
Where did the term ‘Lamb’ come from?
The term came from 1682 when a group of Quakers were going to be arrested on their flight to America so instead of taking their group along a road they had the ship pick them up in the middle of the night to escape from the Red Coats and The Church of England. The ships name was the Lamb. This ship was part of the William Penn’s flotilla.
What does Lam mean in slang?
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. Does anyone know of any other explanations?
Where did the word ‘lam’ come from?
It seems to have originated with the Old English word “lam,” which meant “a beating.” It’s related to the beginning of the word ” lambaste ,” which itself combines two words meaning “to beat or thrash,” “lam” + “baste.” This word means business.