Mess and Gaum

Marcus in Kingsport, Tennessee, says that as children, if he and his sister left snacks or crumbs around the kitchen, his mother would say in exasperation that all the kids ever wanted to do was to mess and gaum. The word gaum means “a greasy or sticky mess,” and is possibly influenced by the word gum. In Ireland, the noun gaum means “a foolish-looking person” and the verb gaum means “to be stupid” or “to mope about.” This is part of a complete episode.