gammon
/'gæmən/
Definition
Noun:
- A cured meat: The hind portion of a side of bacon, or meat cut from the thigh of a hog, typically cured by salting and smoking.
- A victory in backgammon: A win in the game of backgammon where the winner removes all their pieces before the loser removes any.
- Deceitful talk; nonsense: Foolish or deceptive talk; humbug.
Verb:
- To cure meat: To salt and smoke (a hind leg of pork) to make gammon.
- To win at backgammon: To defeat an opponent in backgammon by bearing off all one's pieces before the opponent bears off any.
- To deceive or hoax: To trick or deceive someone through talk or action.
Examples of Usage
- Noun (Meat):
- We had slices of gammon with pineapple for dinner.
- The recipe calls for a piece of smoked gammon.
- Noun (Game):
- He scored a gammon in the final round, doubling his points.
- Noun (Nonsense):
- Don't listen to him; it's all gammon!
- Verb (Meat):
- They gammon the hams using an old family recipe.
- Verb (Game):
- She managed to gammon her experienced opponent.
- Verb (Deceive):
- He tried to gammon the tourists into buying fake tickets.
Advanced Usage
- "To cry gammon": An archaic phrase meaning to expose a lie or deception, or to call out nonsense.
- The journalist cried gammon on the politician's false claims.
Variants and Related Words
- Gammoner (noun): A person who deceives others; a trickster.
- Gammoning (noun/gerund): The act of curing meat, winning at backgammon, or deceiving.
Synonyms
- For meat: Ham, bacon, cured pork.
- For deception: Nonsense, humbug, balderdash, hoax, trick.
- For winning in backgammon: A backgammon (in some contexts, a "backgammon" is a more severe victory than a gammon).
Related Phrases
- "Gammon and spinach": A phrase popularized by Charles Dickens, used as an exclamation of disbelief or to dismiss something as nonsense, roughly equivalent to "stuff and nonsense!"
- "Gammon and spinach!" he cried, refusing to believe the tall tale.
Notes on Different Meanings
The word gammon has distinct meanings that belong to different contexts (culinary, gaming, and colloquial speech). They are considered homographs—words spelled the same but with different origins and meanings. The culinary term is most common in British English. The gaming term is specific to backgammon. The meaning related to deceit or nonsense is now considered archaic or humorous.
Noun
-
hind portion of a side of bacon
-
meat cut from the thigh of a hog (usually smoked)
