Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also flam off) to hoodwink, to deceive.

[1577		Holinshed Irish Chronicle 54: The townes men being pincht at the heart, that one rascall in such scornefull wyse should giue them the flampame].
1621		Rowley, Dekker & Ford Witch of Edmonton II ii: Was this your cunning? And then flam me off with an old witch, two wives, and Winnifride.
1657		T. Jordan Walks of Islington and Hogsdon II ii: We are no colls you know, you must not flam us.
1683		Loyal Conquest – A Song n.p.: No Shamming, nor Flamming, / No Ramming, nor Damming.
1688		T. Shadwell Squire of Alsatia II i: Does he think to flam me with a lye?
1762		Bridges Homer Travestie (1764) I 159: Talthybius, with nimble feet, / Ran a full gallop to the fleet; / Lest Troy should think they meant to flam.
1772		G. Stevens ‘Elixir l’Argent’ Songs Comic and Satyrical 60: That lesson the learned ne’er con, / But faith we’re flamm’d, / We might dye and be damn’d, / But for our Elixir l’Argent.
1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (3rd edn).
1797		Bridges Burlesque Homer (4th edn) I 37: But damn me / If you another day shall flam me.
1821–5		‘Bill Truck’ Man o’ War’s Man (1843) 23: See that the old skin-flint doesn’t flam you off with some of his worn out gear.
1826		N.-Y. Eve. Post 16 Aug. 2/2: A light glimmers, from time to time, in the darkness; and when we expect some grand combination of serpentine, radiating, and many-coloured fire, we are flammed off with a solitary rocket, which hisses, soars, cracks, ‘and all is dark again’.
1834		Marryat Jacob Faithful II 250: How she did flam that poor old Domine!
1836		T. Haliburton Clockmaker I 282: Some sponsible man to indorse it [i.e. a story], that warn’t given to flammin.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum 32: flam To humbug. ‘Flam the bloke’ humbug the fellow.
1886		Western Times 30 Apr. 2/2: Flam — to flatter deceitfully.
1971–2		C. Shafer ‘Catheads [...] and Cho-Cho Sticks’ in Abernethy Bounty of Texas (1990) 204: flam, v. – to trick, deceive, or double-cross.
2001		K. Waterhouse Soho 196: It was more soporific than any exam dissertation he’d ever flammed together.

2. (US campus) to be attentive to a woman.

1856

B.H. Hall College Words (rev. edn) 204: flam. [...] to be attentive, at any time, to any lady or company of ladies.

3. (US campus) to fail.

1900

E.H. Babbitt ‘College Words and Phrases’ in DN II:i 35: flam, v. To fail in an examination.

4. (US) to flirt with or be aggressively forceful towards someone.

1970		Naughton Alfie Darling 181: What nicer situation is there [...] than that of a bloke flamming up a bird and she’s enjoying it and they’re both looking forward to a good lay.
1971		E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).