Dictionary

sham Abraham en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ʃæm ˈeɪ.bɹəˌhæm/ (US)
• /ʃæm ˈeɪ.bɹə.həm/ (US)

Etymology

First use appears c. 1752. From sham + Abraham man (“a beggar who pretends to be ill”)

Meanings

1. (UK, idiomatic, obsolete, qualifier:thieves' cant) To pretend sickness or insanity.
   • The boatswain found me, as he said, an obstinate fellow: he swore that I understood my business perfectly well, but that I shammed Abraham merely to be idle. 1759, Oliver Goldsmith, The Works of Oliver Goldsmith, volume 3, published 1835, The Citizen of the World, Letter CXIX, page 331:
   • Matthew, sceptic and scoffer, had already failed to subscribe a prompt belief in that pain about the heart: he had muttered some words, amongst which the phrase "shamming Abraham" had been very distinctly audible; […] 1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Martin’s Tactics”, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 219–220:

Forms

Hypernyms

shirk

Relateds

play possum

Synonyms

chuck a sickie · pull a sickie · throw a sickie · do Abram