scam

[Mullins, Bill]

>
> 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.
>

I wonder how much faith to put into the IMSDB -- are quotes accurate?
Was the original line "you scan a car up there?"  which would be much
clearer.

OED on scam's etymology:  "obscure".
Much magic/conjuring jargon is derived from the French (likely Robert
Houdin's influence).   Some magicians even today call themselves
"escamoteurs" and what they practice as "escamotage".  Is this a
possible source for the word?  Some very cursory searches through
conjuring literature of the 1950's haven't yet yielded any evidence to
support this, but maybe . . .