bam

n. [ Prob. a contr. of bamboozle. ] An imposition; a cheat; a hoax. Garrick. [ 1913 Webster ]

To relieve the tedium, he kept plying them with all manner of bams. Prof. Wilson. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. (Geography) The capital city of Mali. Population (2000) = 746, 000. [ PJC ]

‖n.; It. pl. -ni /plu>. [ It., a little boy, fr. bambo silly; cf. Gr. bambali`zein, bambai`nein, to chatter. ] 1. A child or baby; esp., a representation in art of the infant Christ wrapped in swaddling clothes. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. (Sports) George Herman Ruth ("Babe" Ruth), the baseball player; -- usu. in the form “the bambino”. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ It. bambocciata, fr. Bamboccio a nickname of Peter Van Laer, a Dutch genre painter; properly, a child, simpleton, puppet, fr. bambo silly. ] (Paint.) A representation of a grotesque scene from common or rustic life. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Malay bambu, mambu. ] (Bot.) A plant of the family of grasses, and genus Bambusa, growing in tropical countries. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The most useful species is Bambusa arundinacea, which has a woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem, and grows to the height of forty feet and upward. The flowers grow in large panicles, from the joints of the stalk, placed three in a parcel, close to their receptacles. Old stalks grow to five or six inches in diameter, and are so hard and durable as to be used for building, and for all sorts of furniture, for water pipes, and for poles to support palanquins. The smaller stalks are used for walking sticks, flutes, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To flog with the bamboo. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bamboozled p. pr. & vb. n. Bamboozling ] [ Said to be of Gipsy origin. ] To deceive by trickery; to cajole by confusing the senses; to hoax; to mystify; to humbug. [ Colloq. ] Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

What oriental tomfoolery is bamboozling you? J. H. Newman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A swindler; one who deceives by trickery. [ Colloq. ] Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]