damber

noun

damber

noun

UK /ˈdæm.bə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈdæm.bɚ/

Etymology Possibly a blend of damme + boy.

1

UK, Obsolete A rascal; a dishonest person; a man belonging to a criminal gang.

  • Happen we seen there was a damber in the ruffmans, and since we'd no yen t' deck the chates, we'd ha' binged a wast but for the rhino we was promised.1994, Amanda Scott, Dangerous Illusions, →ISBN:
  • The gallows laugh is the dying man's joke, or famous last words. As already noted, the crowds of spectators at Tyburn or Newgate hangings in the eighteenth century used to admire people who died laughing: 'I was the capper, see,' says Daniel Then. 'We had the cull all set up and then something went wrong. The others got away but I got nabbed, ha ha ha!' And 'Ha, ha ha,' roars the crowd in appreciation of the jest as the trap is sprung, 'the damber died game.'2010, Eric Berne, What Do You Say After You Say Hello?, →ISBN:
Synonyms
gangbanger see also Thesaurus:criminal
Derived terms
dimber damber

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.