fullam

See also: Fullam

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Fulham, a London suburb, which during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I was the most notorious place for blacklegs in all of England. Loaded dice were supposed to have been chiefly made there.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfʊləm/
  • Hyphenation: ful‧lam
  • Homophone: Fulham
  • Rhymes: -ʊləm

Noun

fullam (plural fullam or fullams)

  1. (archaic, UK, slang) A false die; a die intentionally loaded, or unevenly weighted, so that it always rolls a specific number.
    • 1594, Thomas Nashe, The Unfortunate Traveller:
      Captaine, you perceiue how neere both of vs are driuen, the dice of late are growen as melancholy as a dog, high men and low men both prosper alike, langrets, fullams, and all the whole fellowshippe of them will not affoord a man his dinner, some other means must be inuented to preuent imminent extremitie.
    • a. 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, act 1, scene 3:
      Let vultures gripe thy guts! For gourd and fullam holds / And high and low beguiles the rich and poor.
    • 1599, Ben Jonson, Every Man out of His Humour, act 3, scene 1:
      Who! he serve? 'sblood, he keeps high men, and low-men, he! he has a fair living at Fullam.
  2. (archaic, UK, colloquial, by extension) A sham; a hoax; a make-believe.

Synonyms

Hyponyms

  • (false die): highmen (“loaded for high number”) (plural), lowmen (“loaded for low number”) (plural), uphills (“loaded for high number”) (plural)

References

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