Lam

Filed Under April 2007, columns 

Still running.

Dear Word Detective: In a recent column you gave an explanation of “on the lam” as originating from a radio newscast in the 1920s. I disagree that this is the origin of the term. I think that the expression of being “on the lamb” originated with the Odyssey of Homer, and more specifically with the section of this epic story in which Odysseus and his men were being held captive in the cave of the one-eyed Cyclops. If you will recall, the men had blinded the Cyclops by putting out his one and only eye. He kept sheep and lambs in the same cave where he kept the captive soldiers imprisoned. The sheep and lambs were let out to graze on a daily basis. They had to pass by the blinded Cyclops in order to leave the cave. He felt the lambs’ woolly bodies and determined that they were sheep or lambs and let them pass by unimpeded. The soldiers, being ever so alert and clever, took ropes and tied themselves to the underside or belly of the lambs. The Cyclops felt the woolly hides of the lambs and let them pass. Therefore the soldiers were able to escape from the cave of the Cyclops by quite literally being tied “on the lambs.” This is the more plausible origin of the term and one which has over 2,000 years of historical precedent. — David M.

Hmm. This is a bit awkward, but as far as I can tell, I have never suggested that “on the lam” originated in a 1920s radio broadcast, although if you were searching on the net for the origin of the term, you may well have found someone who did.

What I did say was that the term “on the lam” first appeared in print in the late 19th century, and that “lam” (from the Old Norse “lamja”) has meant “to beat” in English since the 16th century. “To lam it” in the underworld slang of mid-1800s was the exact equivalent of “to beat it,” i.e., run away so fast that your feet seemed to “beat” the pavement. So to be “on the lam” simply meant to be “on the run,” a fugitive from justice.

Given the phonetic similarity between “lam” and “lamb,” the story of how Odysseus and his men outwitted the Cyclops does furnish an intriguing sidelight to “on the lam.” But there is no evidence that there is any actual connection to the phrase, and a good deal of evidence that there isn’t. There’s the little matter of that 2,000 year gap between Homer’s epic (written between 800 and 600 B.C.) and the appearance of the phrase. There’s also the fact that, to my knowledge, the phrase “on the lamb” or anything similar doesn’t occur in any other language. More importantly, the form “on the lamb” does not appear at any point in English, which would be expected if it had been the original form that later mutated into “on the lam.” But “lam” in the “beat” sense has a long, documented history in English which can be traced in citations right up to the appearance of “on the lam.”

 

 

Comments

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.