On the lam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On the lam or on the run refers to the state of being wanted and traveling to avoid capture. Usually, one or more people on the lam have been accused of a crime and are wanted by a form of law enforcement.
[edit] Etymology
"Lam" means "thrash" or "beat soundly," from the Icelandic, "lemje". The imagery is that one beats the path with one's feet while fleeing quickly.
Properly, it stems from a Norwegian/Icelandic language group which, in turn, derives from from a Northern Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, where the Englishes (Modern from Middle from Old) come from Low German, coming from a Western Germanic branch of the Germanic languages. Merriam-Webster's describes the etymology as "of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse lemje to thrash; akin to Old English lama lame Date: 1595."
Mencken's The American Language and The Thesaurus of American Slang proclaim that lam, lammister and on the lam—all referring to a hasty departure—were common in thieves' slang before the turn of the century. Mencken quotes a newspaper report on the origin of 'lam' which actually traces it indirectly back to Shakespeare's time.
| “ | Its origin should be obvious to anyone who runs over several colloquial phrases for leavetaking, such as 'beat it' and 'hit the trail'. The allusion in 'lam' is to 'beat,' and 'beat it' is Old English, meaning 'to leave.' During the period of George Ade's 'Fables in Slang' (1900), cabaret society delight in talking slang, and 'lam' was current. Like many other terms, it went under in the flood of new usages of those days, but was preserved in criminal slang. A quarter of a century later it reappeared. | ” |
The Sage of Baltimore also quotes a story from the New York Herald Tribune in 1938 which reported that "one of the oldest police officers in New York said that he had heard on the lam thirty years ago."
[edit] Examples in fiction
Several fictional stories have delt with characters being "on the lam" as a part of a main theme, story arc or subplot. The Fugitive, a television series and its 1993 film adaptation have their protagonist on the run for most of the storyline's duration. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns puts the title character on the lam for only part of the story, and the character eventually escapes capture permanently.
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