Meanings
yam yam1
plural yam yams
- UKcountablederogatoryinformalsometimesA person who speaks the Black Country dialect.
"What's 'er say?" 'Er said: "Am yow a Yam Yam?", Ah said "Ar bab, I am!".
2019, “Am Yow A Yam Yam”performed by Johnny Cole - UKderogatoryinformalsometimesuncountableThe dialect spoken in the Black Country.
yam yam2
- colloquialuncountableHeroin.
In the episode with Robert Duvall, Buz revealed that in the past he had his own problems with the White Horse, the Brown Sugar, the old Yam Yam, which seemed like a really cool thing to me.
2010, Alexei Sayle, Stalin Ate My Homework1 more example
You may have seen it during the never-ending repeats of Seinfeld. Elaine has a bagel or two for breakfast, takes a drug test for work, and the next day finds out she tested positive for opium - “You know, white lotus. Yam-yam. Shanghai Sally,” her boss, Mr. Peterman, tells her.
2007 May 15, Anahad O'Connor, Never Shower in a Thunderstorm: Surprising Facts and Misleading Myths About Our Health and the World We Live In, page 70
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
yam yam · noun
From the local use of "yow am" (or "yow'm") instead of "you are".
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
yam yam. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yam%20yam
“yam yam.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yam%20yam. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yam yam,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yam%20yam.
Source: yam yam on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.