crambo

[ kram-boh ]

/ ˈkræm boʊ /

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noun, plural cram·boes.

a game in which one person or side must find a rhyme to a word or a line of verse given by another.

inferior rhyme.

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Origin of crambo

First recorded in 1600–10; earlier crambe <Latin crambē repetīta “cabbage reheated, re-served,” a phrase used in Juvenal's “Seventh Satire” (“Reheated cabbage kills teachers”) in reference to unimaginative writing, from Greek krámbē “cabbage”

Words nearby crambo

Craigie, Craiova, crake, crakow, cram, crambo, cram course, Cramer's rule, cram-full, crammer, cramoisy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use crambo in a sentence

It was like a game of dumb crambo, as Peter acted a word, and the old lady tried to guess his meaning.
The Harlequin Opal, Vol. 1 (of 3)|Fergus Hume
Mrs. Campbell began as usual to talk baby language, and play a kind of Dumb Crambo at him.
The Limit|Ada Leverson
The few works which treat on the subject have all become as obselete as “hot cockles” and “crambo.”
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 1, August 21, 1841|Various
Mary says in her second letter: We had a tremendous fit of Crambo again last night from eight to eleven without stopping.
Miss Eden's Letters|Emily Eden

Sir Guy nearly died of Crambo, and was very near taking a Dictionary with him the next time.
Miss Eden's Letters|Emily Eden

British Dictionary definitions for crambo

crambo

/ (ˈkræmbəʊ) /

noun

a word game in which one team says a rhyme or rhyming line for a word or line given by the other team

Word Origin for crambo

C17: from earlier crambe, probably from Latin crambē repetīta cabbage repeated, hence an old story, a rhyming game, from Greek krambē

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012