"abraham-sham" Definition

Definitions for the word "abraham-sham" from multiple English dictionaries.

1. slang
or SHAM ABRAHAM, to feign sickness or distress. From ABRAHAM-MAN, the _ancient Cant_ term for a begging impostor, or one who pretended to have been mad.—_Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy_, vol. i. p. 360. When Abraham Newland was Cashier to the Bank of England, and signed their notes, it was sung:— “I have heard people say That SHAM ABRAHAM you may, But you mustn’t SHAM ABRAHAM Newland.”
Source: The Slang Dictionary, 1864

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