American slang, largely dated, for a person fleeing from law enforcement or justice.
American slang, largely dated, for a person fleeing from law enforcement or justice. Closely related to 'on the lam', the lamster is actively running, hiding, or evading arrest. The term has a distinctly mid-20th century crime fiction feel -- you would find it in hardboiled detective novels more than modern news coverage. Still understood but rarely used outside deliberately vintage or noir contexts.
The detective knew every lamster in the city eventually turned up at the same three motels.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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A lamster is old American slang for someone who's on the run from the law — a fugitive who's taken it on the lam. The word comes from the thieves' cant phrase on the lam, meaning to flee. It has a vintage, noir quality: hardboiled detectives and crime pulp writers would have used lamster naturally. Rarely heard today but still understood.
The detective knew the lamster had a twelve-hour head start and wouldn't stop until he hit the state line.
"lamster" means: A lamster is old American slang for someone who's on the run from the law — a fugitive who's taken it on the lam. The word comes from the th.... This is informal slang, common in casual speech, texting and social media, but not appropriate for school work, applications or professional settings. There is no real cause for concern in itself; it is everyday peer vocabulary. If your child uses it, a light comment about audience and register is usually enough — no need to escalate. Context, more than the word, tells you whether to follow up.
"lamster" means: A lamster is old American slang for someone who's on the run from the law — a fugitive who's taken it on the lam. The word comes from the th.... Register: informal slang, fine in casual conversation, texting and social media but not in academic essays, business writing or formal speech. Note the regional or dialect label (American) — usage may sound odd outside that variety. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive
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(slang) A fugitive from justice.
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