▪ I. slam, n.1
(slæm)
Also 7 slamm.
[Related to slam v.1]
1. a. A severe blow; a violent impact.
| 1672 J. Blakeston Lazarillo ii. ix, He gave me half a dozen..punches with his knee, and as many slamms with his girdle. 1829 A. W. Fonblanque Under 7 Administr. (1837) I. 306 Their whole career is a series of tumbles, back⁓slidings, and cogent slams of the head against the wall. |
b. A violent blow administered to a ball. slang (chiefly U.S.).
| 1931 Lit. Digest 18 Apr. 40, I remember when a hit was a..clout,..slam..but never..just a hit. 1978 Chicago June 274/1 Engrossed as each team was in setting up the ball for a slam, the players' concentration was marred by the explosion of tear-gas canisters some distance away. |
2. a. A violent closing of a door, etc., producing a loud resounding noise; the noise so made, or a noise of this nature.
| a 1817 Jane Austen Persuasion (1818) IV. viii. 147 The various noises of the room, the almost ceaseless slam of the door. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxxiv, Both the slam and the scowl were lost upon Sam. 1861 J. Pycroft Agony Point (1862) 334 A slam was heard at the hall door. 1871 Bp. Fraser in Hughes Life (1887) 204 Closing his prayer-book with an angry slam. 1898 Munro J. Splendid xi. 109 The crack of the musket..falling away in a dismal slam that carried but a short distance. |
b. dial. (See quot.)
| 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Slam, a peculiar mode of ringing the bells. |
3. An insult or ‘put-down’. U.S. slang.
| 1884 I. M. Rittenhouse Jrnl. in Maud (1939) 296 Oh! did I tell you that Mr. Hough to atone for his ‘slams’, said, ‘I did want to make one gallant speech, but I hardly dared, about how remarkably well you looked Tuesday night.’ 1944 B. A. Botkin Treas. Amer. Folklore iii. 410 Certain formulae are identified with disparaging or insulting wisecracks, or ‘slams’. 1980 R. L. Duncan Brimstone i. 22, I don't take that description as a slam. I was a great piece of ass. |
4. = slammer 3. Usu. with the. Chiefly U.S. slang.
| 1960 R. G. Reisner Jazz Titans 164 Slam, jail. 1965 A. Lurie Nowhere City (1966) xi. 118 That was really thinking fast. I guess you saved me a night in slam. 1972 J. Wainwright Requiem for Loser vi. 132 Reginald Drover. Escapee from one of Her Majesty's slams. 1972 S. Greenlee in W. King Black Short Story Anthol. 95 Uncle Benny told him that getting a bad teacher for a year was like being in the slam, and you just did your time and didn't let it bug you. 1978 J. Gores Gone, no Forwarding vii. 40 You're going to the slam for fifteen. |
5. Special Combs. slamdunk U.S. Basketball [cf. dunk v.], a forceful shot in which a player jumps and slams the ball down into the basket.
| 1976 N.Y. Times 25 May 35 The only one-eyed candidate who would know how to put in a slamdunk on a New York playground has new financial life. 1981 Washington Post 25 Feb. e7/3 Robinson had 32 points and Jones put on a slam-dunk show to finish with 17. |
Add: [5.] slam dancing vbl. n. chiefly N. Amer., a form of dancing to rock music (orig. at punk rock concerts) in which participants deliberately collide violently with one another (cf. *mosh v.2); so slam dance n. & v. intr., slam dancer n.
| 1981 N.Y. Times 8 July c21/5 The Los Angeles punks..may get out of hand occasionally, but their widely condemned ‘*slam dancing’, which involves careering into one another like bowling balls plowing into sets of pins, is generally confined to a small area. 1981 Washington Post 17 July b7/2 (heading) The sounds and the slamdance. 1981 Ibid. 10 Nov. d2/2 She recalls ducking glasses and bottles and toppling to the floor, camera and all when slam dancers broke through her protective ring of punk bouncers. 1982 New Yorker 22 Feb. 31/3 Don't let him dance. He likes to slam-dance. Don't Adam. You'll knock over a candle and there'll be a fire. 1989 C. Hiaasen Skin Tight (1990) xii. 133 As the band was playing a song called Suck Till You're Sore, a local skinhead gang went into a slam-dancing frenzy, and fights broke out all over the place. 1991 J. O'Connor Cowboys & Indians 134 The DJ played some awful glam number from the mid-seventies and Eddie tried to slam dance. 1992 Option July–Aug. 31/4 Now that Nirvana has brought slam-dancing to MTV, the mosh pit is getting a lot of attention. 1992 N.Y. Times 19 Jan. ii. 29/5 Rock bands playing clubs can count on stage-divers and slam-dancers—now part of virtually any loud and uptempo scene. 1994 Globe & Mail Toronto 14 June a3/1 The clientele..includes a disproportionate number of green-Mohawk-coiffed, body-pierced, leather-clad slam dancers. |
▪ II. slam, n.2
(slæm)
Also slamm.
[Of obscure origin.]
† 1. The card-game ruff and honours. Obs.
| 1621 J. Taylor (Water P.) Motto D 4 Ruffe, slam, Trump, nody. 1648 Herrick Hesp., Upon Tuck 281 At Post and Paire, or Slam, Tom Tuck would play. 1674 Cotton Compl. Gamester (1680) 82 At Ruff and Honours, by some called Slamm, you have in the Pack all the Deuces. |
2. a. The fact of losing or winning all the tricks in a game of cards, esp. in whist.
| 1660 in Wilkins Polit. Ball. (1860) I. 148 Thus all the while a Club was trump,..Until a noble General came, And gave the cheaters a clear slam. 1674 Hickman Quinquart. Hist. (ed. 2) 229 The Doctor hath one Card more left to play, which if it hit not, he will have a perfect Slam. a 1700 Dict. Cant. Crew, Slam, a Trick; also a Game entirely lost without getting one on that side. 1755 J. Shebbeare Lydia (1769) II. 435 Notes upon Hoyle, who is vastly erroneous in many places, particularly in calculating the slam. 1850 Bohns' Hdbk. Games 85 When a player calls, and his partner refuses to answer, although he has the power, they cannot gain a slam. 1864 Reader 827/1 He lost a slam—that is to say, he did not win a single trick. |
b. With the qualifying terms grand and little, small or minor, chiefly in Bridge.
| 1814 C. Jones Hoyle's Games Improved 188 These declarations will supersede that of Boston simply... The highest, called Grand Slam, is undertaking to get 13 tricks. 1892 Pall Mall G. 14 May 3/1 In two of the ‘hands’ to be played the ‘grand slam’ is won. 1897 R. F. Foster Compl. Hoyle 623 (Bridge), Little Slam, winning 12 out of 13 possible. 1899 A. Mainwaring Cut Cavendish 48 ‘Grand slam’, i.e. taking every trick [at bridge], or ‘minor slam’, every trick but one. 1921 F. Irwin Compl. Auction Player i. 25 To take all, or all but one, of the tricks is to make a slam. The former is called a grand slam, and is worth 100 above the line. The latter is called a small slam, and is worth 50. 1937 N. de V. Hart Slams à la Culbertson i. vi. 53 If he has his maximum count.., he will bid Small Slam even without a five-card suit. 1959 Listener 15 Jan. 146/2 West might then content himself with the small slam. 1977 Times 3 Sept. 7/2 South made an overtrick in the small slam. |
c. grand slam (transf.): (a) a complete success; spec. victory in all of a series of matches or competitions; (b) an attack in force; forceful or decisive behaviour; (c) in Baseball, grand slam (homer, home run): (see quot. 1974).
| (a) 1920 D. H. Lawrence Let. 5 Feb. (1962) I. 619, I feel that this is the time to make our grand-slam. 1966 D. F. Galouye Lost Perception viii. 86 We're going to try for a grand slam—knock them all out at once with nuclear stuff the next time we pin down their locations. 1967 Boston Sunday Herald 26 Mar. ii. 7/1 He was the world's No. 1 amateur in 1962 and only the second player in history to accomplish the ‘Grand Slam’. 1976 Scottish Daily Express 24 Dec. 14/1 We are the Home International champions after a Grand Slam of victories against England, Wales and Northern Ireland. |
| (b) 1933 F. Richards Old Soldiers never Die ix. 123 Dawn broke..and we were anxiously waiting for the time when the Grand Slam commenced. 1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 29 May 322/5 Churchillian impetuosity and grand⁓slam rashness. 1963 Times 7 Mar. 8/3 The most persuasive argument for retaining Checkmate in the Royal Ballet's repertory..is the opportunity for grand slam acting it offers to its protagonist, the malevolent Black Queen. |
| (c) 1953 Sport June 58/1 Bill Carr knocked his pitch over the fence for a grand-slam homer. 1961 Sports Illustr. 2 Oct. 10/2 Baltimore's Jim Gentile hit a grand slam homer off Don Larsen in Chicago one rainy night last week. 1967 Boston Sunday Herald 30 Apr. 1. 8/2 (Advt.), It's as exciting as a ninth inning grand-slam! 1974 Rules of Game 168/3 A grand slam home run is a home run hit when the bases are loaded, i.e. when three men are on base. It scores four runs, the maximum possible from one hit. 1978 Detroit Free Press 16 Apr. e 3/1 The Pirates finally put it together and broke a five-game skid with a little help from a pair of homers from Bill Robinson, one a grand slam. |
3. attrib. in Bridge, as slam bid(ding), slam contract, slam hand.
| 1929 M. C. Work Compl. Contract Bridge p. xi, The partner..must jump if his hand warrant it—either one step..or a vault toward a *slam bid. 1947 E. Klein Enjoy your Bridge ii. xiii. 114 Be content to win a perfectly safe contract and leave your slam bids for a later stage. |
| 1927 Work-Whitehead Auction Bridge Bull. Feb. 141 Contract in its original form, minus the recently introduced ‘vulnerable’ feature and *slam bidding, made its first appearance abroad some fifteen years ago. 1974 Times 16 Feb. 13/2 Slam bidding is treated in most text books as if it..cannot be covered by ordinary approach bidding. |
| 1938 *Slam contract [see control n. 3 e]. 1959 Listener 8 Jan. 84/2 There is every reason to hope for a slam contract in some suit. 1977 Times 16 Apr. 11/8 He..bid Three Diamonds which..in conjunction with the cue⁓bids, produced a slam contract in the wrong suit. |
| 1937 J. Crane Crane Syst. Contract Bidding 78 (heading) Examples of a bidding game and *slam hands from matches. 1979 Reese & Flint Trick 13 17, I didn't know anything was wrong till that slam hand near the finish. |
▸ orig. U.S. = poetry slam n. at poetry n. Compounds 2.
| 1987 Wall St. Jrnl. 24 Aug. i. 1/4 Welcome to the brutal world of ‘slam poetry’. 1987 Wall St. Jrnl. 24 Aug. i. 24/1 Some poets disdain the slam... The slam's advocates dismiss such critics as elitist... The slam..attracts people who otherwise might never hear poetry. 1993 N.Y. Times 31 Jan. ix. 4/7 ‘Have you judged Maya Angelou's inaugural poem at a slam yet?’ ‘No, it was an automatic ten-er.’ 2000 Independent on Sunday (Electronic ed.) 1 Oct. From 5.30–7 pm, there's the first in a series of Poetry in the Bar Slams. |
▪ III. † slam, n.3 Obs.
[a. LG. slam (whence Sw. slam), = G. schlamm mud, slime.]
Refuse matter separated from alum in the preparation of this.
There appears to be no evidence for the currency of the word later than the 17th cent.; the entries in various technical dictionaries of the 19th cent. are app. derived from Bailey (1728).
| 1650–1 North Riding Rec. V. 65 Throwing the slam of allome into the water-course. 1678 Phil. Trans. XII. 1054 That which they call Slam, is first perceived by the redness of the Liquor when it comes from the Pit. 1681 Grew Musæum iii. iii. i. 343 Certain Nitrous and other parts call'd Slam. |
▪ IV. slam, n.4 rare.
[Cf. next, and mod.Yks. slam a slovenly person.]
? An ill-shaped person.
| 1697 Vanbrugh Relapse v. v, Hoyden. I don't like my lord's shapes, nurse. Nurse. Why, in good truly, as a body may say, he is but a slam. |
▪ V. † slam, a. Obs.—1
(See quot.)
| 1691 Ray N.C. Words 137 A slam or slim Fellow is a skragged, tall, rawboned Fellow. |
▪ VI. slam, v.1
(slæm)
[Possibly of Scand. origin: cf. Sw., Norw., and Icel. slamra (also MSw. and Icel. slambra), Sw. dial. slämma, Norw. slemma (slemba), to slam.]
1. trans. To beat or slap vigorously. dial.
| 1691 Ray N.C. Words 137 To Slam one, to beat or cuffe one strenuously. 1825–56 in Eng. Dial. Dict. |
2. a. To shut (a door, window, etc.) with violence and noise; to bang; to close with unnecessary force. Also with advs., as down, to, up.
| 1775 Ash, Slam (v.t. a colloquial word), to shut with a noise. 1809 W. Irving Knickerb. vii. viii. (1820) 504 He..slammed down the window. 1816 Scott Antiq. vi, The clang of several doors which he..slammed with force behind him. 1873 Black Pr. of Thule ix. 142 He would slam the door to again. 1892 Greener Breech-Loader 186 The practice of slamming the gun up is dangerous. |
b. Freq. with in one's face; often fig.
| 1786 in Mrs. Delany Life & Corr. (1861) Ser. ii. III. 421, I hear..that you squander away your money..and then slam the doors in the King's face! 1826 Scott in Lockhart (1839) VIII. 238, I propose to slam the door in the face of all and sundry for these three years to come. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Lab. I. 348 They always wait where they think there's the slightest chance of effecting a sale, until the door is slammed in their face. |
c. To dash, throw, push, etc., with some degree of violence or force. Also fig.
| 1870 ‘Mark Twain’ Lett. to Publishers (1967) 49, I can slam you into the lecture field for life and secure you ten thousand dollars a year as long as you live. 1899 Gardiner Cromwell 192 One of them slammed an overturned cream-tub on the head of another. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 24 Oct. 5/3 Slamming every available man into the firing line. 1902 Cornish Naturalist Thames 150 When the winter storms slam the roaring billows against the cliff faces. |
d. to slam on the brakes, to apply the brakes of a motor vehicle, etc. suddenly; also fig.
| 1958 L. Uris Exodus iv. iii. 501 Zev slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. 1975 Business Week 1 Sept. 23 The rule is designed to prevent a truck from jackknifing or jumping a lane when drivers slam on the brakes at 20 mph to 60 mph. 1975 Economist 4 Oct. 11 Can the driver [sc. contextually General Franco] be persuaded to look forward instead of back, or can someone else intervene to slam on the brakes? 1976 Business Week 11 Oct. 96 A radar unit in the nose..that warns the driver of road hazards ahead—and slams on the brakes if he fails to do so. 1982 Chr. Sci. Monitor 13 Apr. 7 Inflation has dropped dramatically as the quasi-independent Federal Reserve Board slams on the brakes of high interest rates. |
3. intr. Of doors, etc.: To shut, or strike against anything, with violence and resounding noise. Also with advs., as down, to, etc.
In recent use freq. employed to denote any violent action or loud noise.
| 1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 359 To shut a door violently, or to let it slam to of itself. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. v. vi, The huge Drawbridge slams down. 1858 Dickens Lett. (1880) II. 52 Big doors slam and resound when anybody comes in. 1893 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. Mar. 58 The gates are so hung that, if carelessly left open, they will always slam to and fasten. |
4. Used with adverbial force: With a slam or heavy blow; suddenly and violently.
| 1726 G. Roberts Four Yrs. Voy. 320, I no sooner rais'd my Head in Sight, but slam came three or four Stones at me. 1755 Smollett Quix. (1803) II. 129 Slam went his head to the ground. 1796 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Middlesex Election Wks. 1816 IV. 178 Slam off a [= he] went, without more ado; Nort could his bacon save. 1914 G. B. Shaw Misalliance 42 Theyre coming slam into the greenhouse. 1930 E. Pound XXX Cantos xviii. 82 An' he run damn slam on the breakwater. |
5. a. To be severely critical, to utter insults. U.S. slang. rare.
| 1884 I. M. Rittenhouse Jrnl. in Maud (1939) 291 When I and Mr Hough arrived late Dr Benson and Mr Parsons slammed right and left at the tardiness. |
b. trans. To criticize severely. colloq. (orig U.S.).
| [1914 ‘High Jinks, Jr.’ Choice Slang 18 Slamming contest, a condition where two or more individuals are engaged in criticism. ‘A Knockfest.’] 1916 H. L. Wilson Somewhere in Red Gap ii. 57 Couldn't even agree on the same kind of cocktail. Both slamming the waiter. 1932 G. Atherton Adventures of Novelist vi. xiii. 380 She took care I should constantly be slammed. 1958 ‘N. Shute’ Rainbow & Rose 252 They come with bright and tinkling vivacity until I slam them down. 1962 J. Symons Killing of Francie Lake ii. 19 You go on the air and slam negro landlords and they'll be saying you're anti-negro. 1978 J. Irving World according to Garp v. 89 A long, cocky letter, quoting Marcus Aurelius and slamming Franz Grillparzer. |
6. intr. Const. prep. To move violently, to crash.
| 1973 Times 2 Nov. 13/6 Rosa..savagely slamming around the kitchen. 1976 M. Machlin Pipeline lvi. 566 The lifeboat was now slamming through the choppy two and three foot high waves at over twenty knots. 1979 R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) ii. iv. 209 She didn't even see the small stone wall until she had slammed into it. |
Hence ˈslamming vbl. n. (spec. of boats: see quot. 1948) and ppl. a.
| 1796 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Wks. (1816) IV. 186 One scoundrel..with a slammin stick, Com'd souse upon my sconce. 1868 J. R. Green Lett. (1901) ii. 204 There was a great slamming of pew doors. 1892 Daily News 29 Apr. 5/4 The wing of a slamming door shut in front of him. 1893 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. Mar. 58 Formerly the posts, both hanging and slamming posts, were made of oak. 1935 Engineering 18 Jan. 55/1 ‘Pounding’ or ‘slamming’ damage is looked upon as no more than a normal circumstance..of cargo vessels trading across the North Atlantic. 1948 R. de Kerchove Internat. Maritime Dict. 685/1 Slamming almost always takes place forward... Slamming damage is usually ascribed to dynamic pressures arising from impact of the ship's hull upon the surface of the water, and from the actual impulsive displacement of water caused by the downward movement of the ship when pitching. 1972 C. Mudie Motor Boats & Boating 17 If such a craft were to be taken to sea she would rapidly be found to be..apt to break her back from slamming when pitching. |
Add: [2.] e. Sport. To score (a goal, etc.) with a powerful kick or strike; to accumulate (a large total) in this way. colloq.
| 1959 Punch 6 May 611/1 The players are naturally pleased when one of their team gets, ‘hits’, or ‘slams’ a goal. 1986 Philadelphia Inquirer 11 July c2/5 George Foster slammed a three-run double and Bob Ojeda scattered seven hits as host New York snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Atlanta. 1987 Wisden Cricket Monthly Aug. 39/2 Instead of bowlers rampaging at the start Hardie and Gooch slammed 202 for the first wicket on the way to a total of 280 for 2. |
[5.] [b.] For def. read: To criticize severely. Also, in later use, to repudiate or contradict (an allegation, etc.). colloq. (orig. U.S.). (Further examples.)
| 1973 C. Mullard Black Britain ii. vi. 68 By..producing the facts about immigration which slam his own exaggerations, they are, like it or not, playing into Powell's hands. 1985 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 10 Dec. 3 (heading) Card artists slam claims of deception. 1989 Construction News 8 June 4/4 Criticisms that the Government sees road building as the only solution to the capital's congestion problems were slammed as a myth by Mr Bottomley. |
[6.] b. Naut. Of a boat: to crash into the trough of a wave, or into the wave itself; to plunge or pitch.
| 1958 J. L. Kent Ships in Rough Water ix. 120 Ships occasionally ‘slam’ when driven through rough seas. 1976 M. Machlin Pipeline lvi. 566 The lifeboat was now slamming through the choppy two and three foot high waves at over twenty knots. 1986 Practical Boat Owner July 57/1 Of course, she's more likely to slam if wave-hopping. 1988 Motor Boat & Yachting Oct. 98/4 It gave an exciting ride, slamming and skittering in the chop and returning its crew safely with broad grins on their faces. |
Add: 7. = slam dance s.v. *slam n.1 5. Chiefly as vbl. n. (see below). N. Amer. colloq.
| 1990 D. Gaines Teenage Wasteland viii. 200 For most girls, it was virtually impossible to see a band at a hardcore show because the front of the stage was dominated, always, by muscular, lean, sweaty boys stage-diving and slamming around. 1993 Screamer Nov. 5/2, I like to stand in front of the stage where the maniacs slam and dive. |
slamming vbl. n. (examples in sense *7 of the vb.).
| 1983 People 28 Mar. 97/1 While mainly a showcase for adolescent male aggression, the slamming ritual depends on a sense of mutual support from the participants. 1992 Chicago Jan. 100/3 The first floor is for dancing and slamming and conversation..while upstairs thrash bands go to the limit. |
▪ VII. slam, v.2
(slæm)
[f. slam n.2]
1. trans. To beat by winning a slam; also dial., to trump. Hence transf., to beat completely.
| 1746 Hoyle Whist 80, D having seven Spades in his Hand wins them, and consequently Slams A and B. 1907 Daily Mail 5 Sept. 6/1 He [a race-horse] absolutely slammed his field. |
2. intr. To win a slam.
| 1833 W. H. Maxwell Field Bk. 489. |
▪ VIII. † slam, v.3 Obs. rare.
A substitution for damn v. 5, perh. suggested by slam n.2
| a 1657 N. Wallington Notices Chas. I (1869) II. 94 They returned only burning and slamming themselves in rage and malice. 1760 Foote Minor i. Wks. 1799 I. 243 Slam me, but the man's mad! 1797 Brydges Hom. Trav. I. 321 But ev'ry syllable is true, Or slam me if I'd tell it you! |
▪ IX. slam, v.4 Telecomm. (chiefly U.S.).
Brit. /slæm/, U.S. /slæm/
[Origin uncertain: perhaps a spec. sense of either slam v.2 (with allusion to the ‘trumping’ of the customer's existing service provider) or slam v.1, perhaps with allusion to the suddenness and forced nature of the switch, or perhaps as suggested below:
| 1997 Federal Communic. Law Jrnl. 49 228 (note) One source suggests the word slamming derived from a practice in the telemarketing industry whereby a telemarketer called a customer to switch his line, and after the customer refused, the telemarketer slammed down the phone, followed by the comment, ‘sounds like they want to change’. |
trans. To switch the long distance telephone service of (a customer) to another provider without authorization. Usu. in pass. See also slamming n.
| 1988 Communications Week 12 Dec. 20/2 AT&T is trying to gauge the degree to which its residential customers are being ‘slammed’ by companies marketing the services of its long distance rivals. 1995 Consumer Rep. Sept. 574/2 A long-distance phone company has ‘slammed’ you—switched you to their service without your permission. 2000 Age (Melbourne) 13 Dec. (Business section) 2/4 They will write to all affected customers and provide compensation in cases where it can be shown that the customer had been ‘slammed’. |