To be on the lam is to be running from the law, and lam likely comes from an older verb meaning to beat or thrash. Because beat it also came to mean run away or scram, lam appears to have followed the same path into slang for fleeing. Colleen in...
1661 n.— «I’ve always detested the expression “mutton dressed as lamb.” It’s misogynist, mean and women are not meat; even Sam Kekovich would concur with that. But there’s a new version of it that describes women who retain...
purp n.— «Gov. Andrews related a Texan practice in training dogs with sheep. “A purp is taken from its mother before its eyes are opened and put with an ewe to suckle. After a few times the ewe becomes reconciled to the pup which...
slime-grafting n.— «The only foolproof technique we know of is called hide-grafting, which incorporates another procedure known as slime-grafting. The combined practice entails confining the ewe in a hurdle, then skinning her dead lamb...
goat grab n. at gatherings or celebrations in the Middle East, a communal self-served meal of meat and vegetables eaten with the hands. Editorial Note: This term is used informally by Anglophones not native to the culture. The food eaten in a goat...
goat grab n.— «The Saudi soldiers feted the Americans, offering them juice, tea and platters of lamb and rice. Diemler explained it was “goat-grab,” where “you tear off a piece of meat with your hands, mix it with rice...