Gammon

/ˈɡæmən/ noun

Definition

Cured ham, especially the hind leg of bacon; also means nonsense or deceptive talk, or to deceive someone.

Etymology

From Old French 'gambon' meaning 'leg,' from Latin 'gamba'; the word traveled through Norman cooking into English and gained a secondary meaning of 'deceive' around the 1600s.

Kelly Says

Gammon has a mysterious double life—it means delicious cured meat to a butcher, but nonsense or humbug to someone calling out lies; historians aren't sure how the meat and the deception became the same word.

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