Verb. (old).—To beat. Also Lam, Lambaste, Lamback and Lambeake. Cf.
Lamming.
1555. Disc. of New World, 115 [Nares]. While the men are faine to
beare off with eares, head, and shoulders. Happy may they call that
daie whereon they are not lambeaked before night.
1591. Nashe, Wond. Prog. [Grosart (1885), ii. 159]. Tall fellows
... armed with good cudgels, shall so lambeake these stubborne
huswiues, that the wind shall turn into another quarter.
1592. Harvey, Four Letters [Grosart (1885), i. 183]. One, which
should massacre Martin’s wit, or should be lambackd himself.
1600. Decker, Shoem. Holiday, in Works (1873), i. 68. Oh if they
had staid I would have so lamb’d them with flouts.
1601. Munday & Chettle, Death of Rob. E. of Hunt., sign. K. 1.
[Nares]. First, with this hand wound thus about here haire, And
with this dagger lustilie lambackt, I would, y faith.
1613. Beaumont & Fletcher, Honest Man’s Fortune, v. 2. If I had
been acquainted with lamming in my youth ... I should do better.
1637. Davenant, Britannia Triumphans [Paterson, ii. 82]. Whine not,
my love; his fury streight will waste him; Stand off awhile, and
see how He lambaste him.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Lambaste, to beat soundly.
1710. Misson, Travels in England, p. 306. A fellow whom he lambed
most horribly.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1731. Coffey, Devil to Pay, Sc. v. Come, hussy, leave fooling ...
or else I’ll lamb you.
1733. Fielding, Don Quixote, ii. 6. Sirrah, I am able to beat a
dozen of you.—If I don’t lamb thee!
1748. T. Dyche, Dictionary (5th ed.). Lamb (v.) to thresh or beat
severely.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Lamb or lambaste, to beat.
1811. Lex. Bal., s.v.
1812. Smith (H. and J.), Rejected Addresses, xx. I would pummel and
lam her well.
b. 1852. Traits of American Humour, 50. If he seed er fellow he
thought he could lamm without no danger, he wouldn’t make no bone,
but he’d just go up to the chap and make faces at him.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Lamb, to beat with a club.
1864. Eton School Days, xxvi. 291. The partial thrashing which he
had himself received only made him the more anxious for revenge on
Ravenous. ‘Lam into him!’ said Lascelles.
1872. S. L. Clemens (‘Mark Twain’), Roughing It. He could lamm any
galoot of his inches in America.
1882. F. Anstey, Vice-Versâ, iv. ‘Let him undress now, and we can
lam it into him afterwards with slippers.’
1887. Henley, Villon’s Good Night. Paste ’em, and larrup ’em, and
lamn.
1889. Lic. Vict. Gaz., 18 Jan. Still the little ’uns lammed into
each other.
To skin the Lamb. See Skin.
Lamback, subs. (old).—A blow.
1591. Greene, Discov. of Cosenage [Grosart (1881–6), x. 60]. Five
or six wives ... gave unto him halfe a score of sound lambeakes
with their cudgels.
Lambacker, subs. (old).—A bully; a hector (q.v.).
1593. Harvey, Pierces Superer. [Grosart (1885), ii. 210]. Out upon
thee for a cowardly lambacker.
Lamb and Salad. To give one Lamb and Salad, verb. phr. (common).—To
thrash soundly. For synonyms see Wig and Tan.
Lambaste. See Lamb, verb. sense 1.
Lambasting, subs. (common).—A thrashing; cf. Lamb and Basting. For
synonyms see Tanning.
1835. Haliburton, Clockmaker, 1. xii. ‘They put me in mind of a
great big hulk of a horse in a cart, that won’t put his shoulder to
the collar at all for all the lambastin’ in the world.’
1838. Neal, Charcoal Sketches, ii. 79. ‘I can’t hide,’ says a
braggadoccio, ‘when anybody owes me a lambasting.’
1883. Clark Russell, Sailor’s Language, s.v. Lambusting, a
rope’s-ending.
Lamb-down, verb. (Australian).—See quot.
1886. Daily Telegraph, 20 Mar. Arrived there he at once handed his
cheque to the landlord, and proceeded to lamb the amount—say
five-and-forty pounds—‘down’; that is to say, he got excessively
drunk morning, noon, and night on the infamously bad whiskey
supplied to him.
Lamb-pie, subs. (old).—A drubbing.—B. E. (1690); New Cant. Dict.
(1725); Dyche (1748); Grose (1785); Lex. Bal. (1811).
Lambskin, verb. (old).—To beat: see Lamb, sense 1.
1593. Harvey, Pierces Superer. [Grosart (1885), ii. 210]. Thou art
too young an Artist to coniure him up, that can exercise thee
downe; or to lamback him with ten years preparation, that can
lambskin thee with a dayes warning.
1612. Chapman, Widow’s Tears, ii. 4. What think you of ...
Hercules? ... his mistress wore his lion’s skin and lamb-skinned
him if he did not his business.
Lamb-skin Man, subs. (old).—A judge.—B. E. (1690); New Cant. Dict.
(1725); Grose (1785); Lex. Bal. (1811).
Lamb’s-wool, subs. (old).—Hot ale, spiced, sweetened, and mixed with
the pulp of roasted apples.
c. 1189. The King & the Miller (Percy, Reliques, iii. 184). A cupp
of lambs-wool they dranke unto him then.
1590. Peele, Old Wives’ Tale, iv. 6. Lay a crab in the fire to rost
for lambswool.
1593. Nashe, Strange Newes, in Works, ii. 198. Before I vnbowell
the leane Carcase of thy book any further, Ile drinke one cup of
lambswool.
b. 1602. Lingua [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), ix. 424]. Lambs-wool,
the meekest meat in the world; ’twill let any man fleece it.
1606. Dekker, Newes from Hell [Grosart (1886), ii. 124]. One of
those big fellows that stand like gyants, having bellies bumbasted
with ale in Lambswool.
1621. Burton, Anat. (ed. 1892), ii. 297. I find more that commend
use of apples ... (lamb’s-wool some call it).
1633. Johnson, Gerard’s Herbal, p. 1460. The pulpe of the rosted
apples, in number foure or five, according to the greatnesse of the
apples (especially the pomewater), mixed in a wine quart of faire
water, laboured together until it come to be as apples and ale,
which we call lambes-wooll.
d. 1674. Herrick, Poems, p. 376. Now crowne the bowle With gentle
lambs-wooll, Add sugar, and nutmegs, and ginger.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Lamb’s Wool, roasted apples and
ale.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1731. C. Coffey, The Devil To Pay, i. Here’s sixpence for you; get
ale and apples, stretch and puff thyself up with lamb’s wool,
rejoice and revel by thyself.
1766. Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, xi. Our honest neighbour’s
goose and dumplings were fine, and the lamb’s-wool ... was
excellent.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lex. Bal., s.v.
1822. Scott, Fortunes of Nigel, viii. The ale, or, to speak
technically, the lamb’s wool, was fitted for drinking.
1883. Notes & Queries, 6, S. viii. p. 482. The wassail-bowl (as
Horsfield states) was compounded of ale, sugar, nutmeg, and roasted
apples, the latter called lamb’s-wool. The wassail-bowl is placed
on a small round table, and each person present is furnished with a
silver spoon to stir.
Lame-dog. To help a lame dog over a stile, verb. phr. (common).—To give
a hand; to help; to bunk up (q.v.). Fr. sauver la mise à quelqu’un.
1605. Marston, Insatiate Countess, ii. 2. Here’s a stile so high as
a man cannot help a dog over it.
1670. Ray, Proverbs [Bohn (1893), 168]. Help the lame dog over the
stile.
Lame duck, subs. phr. (common).—1. A defaulter on ’Change: who has to
‘waddle out of the Alley.’ Cf. Bear, Bull, etc.
1766. Lord March in Jesse’s Selwyn, ii. 47 (1882). As I am very
deeply engaged [in racing bets], I shall perhaps be obliged to make
use of your money, that in case of the worst I may not be a lame
duck.
1768. Foote, Devil upon Two Sticks, Act i. A mere bull and bear
booby; the patron of lame ducks, brokers, and fraudulent bankrupts.
1771. Garrick, Prologue to The Maid of Bath. The gaming fools are
doves, the knaves are rooks, Change-alley bankrupts waddle out lame
ducks.
1771. Walpole, Letters, iii. 337. I may be lame, but I shall never
be a duck, nor deal in the garbage of the Alley.
1774. Colman, Man of Business, iv. 1. in Wks. (1777), ii. 179. If
Mr. Beverly does not pay his differences within these
four-and-twenty hours, the world cannot hinder his being a lame
duck.
1787. Whitehall Evening News [quoted in Francis on Stock Exchange].
There were no less than 25 lame ducks who waddled out of the alley.
1846. Marryat, Peter Simple, III. xxv. 458. He was obliged to
waddle: if I didn’t know much about bulls and bears, I know very
well what a lame duck is to my cost.
1847. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, xiii. ‘Unless I see Amelia’s ten
thousand down you don’t marry her. I’ll have no lame duck’s
daughter in my family.’
1860. Peacock, Gryll Grange, xviii. In Stock Exchange slang, Bulls
are speculators for a rise, Bears for a fall. A lame duck is a man
who cannot pay his differences, and is said to waddle off.
1865. Harper’s Mag., April, p. 616. All, or nearly all, have been
lame ducks at some time or other.
1890. Standard, 5 Aug., p. 2, col. 2. We learn that it is
actionable to call a stockbroker a lame duck, because on the
Exchange ‘the word has acquired a particular meaning.’
1891. Pall Mall Gaz., 19 Jan., p. 3, col. 1. We have had
applications from a good many lame ducks.