noun General Slang

Nammow

/ˈnæmoʊ/ · noun · slang

Cockney back-slang for 'woman' — said backwards so the subject didn't catch it.

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Definitions

1

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.”
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2

Used for a man's wife or partner, often the one who really ran the household money.

“I'll have to ask my nammow before I spend a dunop on that.”
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3

Could mark a shrewd buyer who knew her prices and wouldn't be easily fooled — a note of respect as much as code.

“Careful, she's a sharp nammow, she'll spot a bruised one a yard off.”
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Nammow In A Sentence

A young nammow with a basket asked the price of the plums.
His nammow kept the books and let no yennep go astray.
Two nammows haggling over fish can clear a whole stall of stock.

Origin & Usage

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.

Variants namownemow
Tags #cockney#back-slang#british#uk#people

People Also Ask

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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