Found 1 items, similar to To sham Abraham.
English → English (gcide) Definition: To sham Abraham Sham \Sham\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shammed; p. pr. & vb. n. Shamming.] 1. To trick; to cheat; to deceive or delude with false pretenses. [1913 Webster] Fooled and shammed into a conviction. --L'Estrange. [1913 Webster] 2. To obtrude by fraud or imposition. [R.] [1913 Webster] We must have a care that we do not . . . sham fallacies upon the world for current reason. --L'Estrange. [1913 Webster] 3. To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape; to feign. [1913 Webster] To sham Abram or To sham Abraham, to feign sickness; to malinger. Hence a malingerer is called, in sailors' cant, Sham Abram, or Sham Abraham. [1913 Webster] Abraham-man \A"bra*ham-man`\or Abram-man \A"bram-man`\, n. [Possibly in allusion to the parable of the beggar Lazarus in Luke xvi. --Murray (New Eng. Dict. ).] One of a set of vagabonds who formerly roamed through England, feigning lunacy for the sake of obtaining alms. --Nares. [1913 Webster] To sham Abraham, to feign sickness. --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster]