gammy
Preserved but no longer current.
Bad, unfavourable, poor tempered. Those householders who are known enemies to the street folk and tramps are pronounced by them to be GAMMY. GAMMY sometimes means forged, as "GAMMY-MONNIKER," a forged signature; GAMMY STUFF, spurious medicine; GAMMY LOWR, counterfeit coin. Hants, GAMY, dirty. The hieroglyphic used by beggars and cadgers to intimate to those of the tribe coming after that things are not very favourable is known as □, or GAMMY. Gaelic, Welsh, and Irish, CAM (GAM), crooked.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “gammy” mean?
Bad, unfavourable, poor tempered. Those householders who are known enemies to the street folk and tramps are pronounced by them to be GAMMY. GAMMY sometimes means forged, as "GAMMY-MONNIKER," a forged signature; GAMMY STUFF, spurious medicine; GAMMY LOWR, counterfeit coin. Hants, GAMY, dirty. The hieroglyphic used by beggars and cadgers to intimate to those of the tribe coming after that things are not very favourable is known as □, or GAMMY. Gaelic, Welsh, and Irish, CAM (GAM), crooked.
Is “gammy” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.