Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (UK Und.) bread; thus pannam-fencer n., a street pastry-seller.

c.1566		Harman Caveat for Common Cursetours in Viles & Furnivall (1907) 83: pannam bread.
1587		in W. Harrison Description of England (1877) 155: The other hath little or no floure left therein at all, howbeit he calleth it Panem Cibarium, and it is [...] the woorst and weakest of all the other sorts.
1592		Groundworke of Conny-catching n.p.: [as cit. c.1566].
1608		Dekker Belman of London B2: The Ruffin cly the nab of the Harman beck, If we mawnd Pannam, lap, or Ruff-peck.
1611		Middleton & Dekker Roaring Girle V i: A gage of ben rom-bouse [...] Is benar then a caster, / Peck, pennam, lap, or popler.
1639		J. Taylor Crabtree Lectures 191: Mort. Ile tell thee queere Cove, thou must maund at the Gigger for Pannum and Casum, or a cheat of queere bowse, or Kacklen Cheate, and whid rumpsie.
1641		R. Brome Jovial Crew II i: Here’s Pannam and Lap, and good Poplars of Yarrum, / To fill up the Crib, and to comfort the Quarron.
1651		T. Randolph Hey for Honesty III i: Darkmans for pannum Should the grand Ruffian come to mill me, I Would scorn to shuffle from my poverty.
1665		Head Eng. Rogue I 47: Pannam, from Panis, Bread.
1674		‘The Beggars Curse’ Head Canting Academy (1674) 14: If we maund Pannam, lap, or ruff peck.
1688		R. Holme Academy of Armory Ch. iii item 68c: Canting Terms used by Beggars, Vagabonds, Cheaters, Cripples and Bedlams. [...] Pannam, bread.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Panam, c. Bread.
1703		Hell Upon Earth 6: Panum, Bread.
1707		J. Shirley Triumph of Wit 195: Filch me some Pannum and Cash [Cut me some Bread and Cheese].
1719		A. Smith Lives of Most Notorious Highway-men, etc. (1926) 205: [...] Flick me some panam and cash, i.e., cut me some bread and cheese.
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1734		C. Johnson Hist. of Highwaymen &c 354: Ryland hearing that the Panum was come, out whips he to take it.
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1741		Canting Academy, or the Pedlar’s-French Dict. 111: Bread and Cheese, Pannum & Causum.
1754		Scoundrel’s Dict. 21: Filsh me some Pannam and case.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1791		‘Flash Lang.’ in Confessions of Thomas Mount 19: Bread, pinum.
1809		G. Andrewes Dict. Sl. and Cant.
1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang.
1823		‘Jon Bee’ Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc. 132: Panum — bread.
1827		Commercial Advertiser (N.Y.) 1 Feb. 2/3: After roystering at the Theatre, they broomed to a neighboring bousing ken [...] one told the landlord to flick him some panea [sic] and cassan.
1836		‘The Charity Boy’ Mr and Mrs Jim Crow’s Collection of Songs 6: Vherever I goes, no pannum I vant.
1844		C. Selby London by Night I ii: As far as an injun, pannum, and cheese, and a drop of heavy goes, you are perfectly welcome.
1840		Flash Mirror 19: G. Guttle [...] has just opened a slap up grub and bub shop [...] (for ready rag only), where he sells panum, lap and peck of every sort.
1851		G. Borrow Lavengro II 166: They call bread pannam in their language.
1858		A. Mayhew Paved with Gold 268: He could tell tales of trunks knowingly cut away from their lashings to the hind springs, or how he had ‘pricked for panam in the wicker,’ or ‘sneaked a cat and kitten’ from the tap-room.
c.1864		A. Stephens ‘The Chickaleary Cove’ 🎵 And a doesn’t care a flatch, / So long as I’ve a tach, / Some pannum in my Chest – and a tog on!
1868		‘Susan’s Sunday Out’ in My Young Wife and I Songster 24: She keeps me well in ‘pannun,’ that’s what makes me look so stout.
1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1890		Shields Dly Gaz. 19 July 5/1: Ye’ll be afther gittin’ grub and [...] panem.
1895		C. Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 56: Pannam, bread.
1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 192/2: Pannum (Thieves’). Bread, dinner.
2019		P. Baker Fabulosa 296/1: pannam, pannum bread .

2. any form of food.

1840		Flash Mirror 4: The Bug Walk [...] Kept by Mother Brown [...] This house is a pannum supply .
1848		Paul Pry 27 Nov. n.p.: ‘Camberwell Jem’ invites friends to supper, but only means, ‘after supper walk a mile,’ and after walking two find the ‘pannum’ has emigrated.
1894		Truth (Sydney) 19 Feb. 2/8: To indicate anything to eat it must be ‘chuck,’ ‘panam’, ‘scran’.
1897		W.T. Goodge ‘Great Aus. Slanguage’ in Baker Aus. Lang. (1945) 117: And his food is called his tucker / Or his panem or his chuck.
a.1909		press cutting in J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 128/2: You have to be a bit cheeky to go into a feeding birk to order pannum good enough for a prince without a D in your clye.
1914		Truth (Melbourne) 31 Jan. 6/3: At the seaside one spud is reduced by half when a few extra appetites waft along for panem.
1933		E.A. Robertson Ordinary Families 35: What’s panem and that got to do with Littlehampton?