Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (UK Und.) crooked dice that appear to be perfectly honest but have in fact been weighted with lead to ensure that they roll as the user wishes.

1552		G. Walker Detection of Vyle and Detestable Use of Dice Play 27: Provide also a bale or two of fullans, for they have great use at the hazard: and, though they be square outward, yet being within at the corner with lead or other ponderous matter stopped.
c.1597		Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor I iii: Let vultures gripe thy guts! for gourd and fullam holds, And high and low beguile the rich and poor.
1608		Dekker Belman of London E3: The names of false Dyce. [...] A Bale of Flat Cater-Treas. A Bale of Fullams. A Bale of light Graniers.
1630		J. Taylor ‘Travels of Twelve-pence’ in Works (1869) I 73: Where Fullam high and Low-men bore great sway, / With the quick helpe of a Bard Cater Trey.
1665		Head Eng. Rogue I 376: Dice fixt for our purpose, as High-fullums, which seldom run any other chance then four, five, and six; Low-fullums, which run one, two, and three.
1672		J. Phillips Maronides (1678) VI 33: Two bales of Fulhams low and high.
1674		C. Cotton Compleat Gamester 12: This cheating they do by false Dice, as High-Fullams 4, 5, 6; Low-Fullams, 1, 2, 3.
1700		T. Brown Amusements Serious and Comical in Works (1744) III 60: [They] practise the old trade of cross-biting cullies, assisting the frail square dye with high and low fullams, and other napping tricks.
1714		A. Smith Lives of Most Noted Highway-men, etc. I 200: He was [...] a very great Gamesman, especially at Dice, and to cheat all with whom he play’d, he never was without his High-fullams, which seldom run any other Chance than four, five, and six; and his Low-fullams, which run but one, two.
1714		T. Lucas Lives of the Gamesters (1930) 198: He had caused a great numbr of false dice to be made [...] high and low fullums.
1732		Progress of a Rake 43: By this time Dick begins to know / His fate, by Fulham’s High and Low / And that the Cogging of a Dy / Has made his Heaps of Guineas fly.
1755		The Tricks of the Town Laid Open (4 edn) 51: I have seen their Mathematical Flats and Bars; nay [...] Mathematical Fullams too.
1785		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: The names of false dice: A bale of bard cinque deuces A bale of flat cinque deuces A bale of flat sice aces A bale of bard cater traes A bale of flat cater traes A bale of fulhams A bale of light graniers A bale of langrets contrary to the ventage A bale of gordes, with as many highmen as lowmen, for passage A bale of demies A bale of long dice for even and odd A bale of bristles A bale of direct contraries.
1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (3rd edn) n.p.: Fulhams. Loaded dice are called high and lowmen, or high and low fulhams, by Ben Jonson and other writers of his time; either because they were made at Fulham, or from that place being the resort of sharpers.
1801		‘Modern Dict.’ in Sporting Mag. May XVIII 100/1: [as cit. 1785].
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1796].
1822		(con. early 17C) W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel II 146: To eke out your living / By the wag of your elbow, / By fulham and gourd.
1822		R. Nares Gloss. (1888) I 339: fullam, or fulham. The cant term for some kinds of false dice. There were high fullams and low fullams. Probably from being full, or loaded, with some heavy metal on one side, so as to produce a bias, which would make them come high or low, as they were wanted. It has been conjectured that they were made at Fulham, but I have seen no proof of it; nor is it very likely that gambling should have flourished in so quiet a village: nor would such a manufacture be publicly avowed.
1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. (2nd edn) 145: FULLAMS, false dice, which always turn up high.
1871–82		B.M. Carew Life and Adventures.
1895		Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 31: Fullams, false dice.
1935		A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks.

2. in ext. use, a trick.

1664

S. Butler Hudibras Pt II canto 1 lines 641–2: As one cut out to pass your tricks on, / With Fulham’s of poetic fiction.