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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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.
