A.Word.A.Day -- gammon

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A.Word.A.Day--gammon

This week's theme: words that have many unrelated meanings.

gammon (GAM-uhn) noun

1. Backgammon.

2. A victory in a backgammon game before the loser has removed any piece.

[Probably from Middle English gamen (game).]

3. A cured or smoked ham.

4. The bottom piece of a side of bacon.

[From Old French gambon (ham), from gambe (leg), from Late Latin gamba (hoof), from Greek kampe (bend).]

verb tr., intr.

To deceive or to fool.

[Of uncertain origin, perhaps from the game of backgammon.]

See more usage examples of gammon in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

-Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org)

"One low-life chats with an old lady, who 'remarked very sapiently that he would be a-gammoning of her.'" Lucy Daniel; Repro Literature; Financial Times (London, UK); Jan 27, 2006.

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Man is the religious animal. He is the only religious animal that has the true religion -- several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910)

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