General
nammow
What does nammow mean?
A woman. From 'woman' reversed to 'nammow', back-slang traders used to talk about a female customer, a wife or a passer-by within earshot of the person concerned.
"That nammow's been eyeing the good apples — give her your best patter."
Origin
Cockney costermonger back-slang of the 1840s ('woman' reversed), part of the everyday people-vocabulary recorded by Mayhew (1851) and Hotten (1859) in their accounts of London street sellers.
Frequently asked questions
What does nammow mean?
It means a woman — 'woman' said backwards in Cockney back-slang.
Was nammow ever disrespectful?
Not inherently; it was a neutral code word, though tone and context could make it admiring or wary, like any everyday term.
What's the back-slang for a girl?
A girl was 'el-rig', the reversed form of 'girl' broken into a sayable shape.
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