nicky-tam

noun

A pair of straps or pieces of string tied around the leg below the knee to raise trousers above the level of farmyard dirt.

“Use for ditching.”

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Meanings

nounnicky-tam (plural nicky-tams)

plural nicky-tams

  1. A pair of straps or pieces of string tied around the leg below the knee to raise trousers above the level of farmyard dirt.

    Use for ditching.

    1 more example

    A Pair of Nicky-Tams Folk song.

  2. The same to prevent the ingress of dust and vermin up the trouser leg.

    Keeping rats out.

  3. broadlyA simpleton or country yokel.

    See also "A Pair of Nicky-Tams".

    1 more example

    Interview with Sir Nicky Tam in the Aberdeen Voice.

Origin

From knickerbockers (due to the shape that the trouser legs adopt) + taum (a cord).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nicky-tam. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nicky-tam

MLA

“nicky-tam.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nicky-tam. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nicky-tam,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nicky-tam.

Source: nicky-tam on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.