scam

[Jonathan Lighter]

Rare indeed. In fact, this is the only ex. I know of, and predates the post 1968 popularity of "scam" meaning "to obtain by deceit."

Bill, tell me more.

JL

"Mullins, Bill" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Mullins, Bill"
Subject: Re: scam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> > scam (v) OED has 1963
> >
> > "Rebel without a Cause" screenplay by Stewart Stern, 1955
> online at:
> > http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Rebel-Without-A-Cause.html
> >
> > "You scam a car up there?"
> >
>
> What does "You scam a car up there?" mean?
>
>From context, I'm guessing it means "Did you see a car up there?"
I've heard scam used with this sense (rarely), but it isn't in the OED
definition.


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