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on the lam

 - 4 dictionary results

lam

2  [lam] noun, verb, lammed, lam⋅ming. Slang.
Use on the lam in a Sentence
–noun
1. a hasty escape; flight.
–verb (used without object)
2. to run away quickly; escape; flee: I'm going to lam out of here as soon as I've finished.
—Idioms
3. on the lam, escaping, fleeing, or hiding, esp. from the police: He's been on the lam ever since he escaped from jail.
4. take it on the lam, to flee or escape in great haste: The swindler took it on the lam and was never seen again.
Origin:
1885–90; special use of lam 1 . Compare beat it! be off!
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
on the lam [...læm]

  1. mod.
    running from the police. (Underworld.) : When the boss found out you was on the lam, he got real mad.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

lam 
"flight," as in on the lam, 1897, from a U.S. slang verb meaning "to run off" (1886), of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from the first element of lambaste, which was used in British student slang for "beat" since 1596; if so, it would give the word the same etymological sense as beat it.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

on the lam

Running away, especially from the police, as in He's always in some kind of trouble and perpetually on the lam. The origin of this slangy term of the 1800s is not known.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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