A form of public performance of spoken word most aptly described as:

Poetry with diving scores.

With three simple rules: no props, no sleeping with the judges and keep it under 3 minutes, this was all devised as a way to shut up drunken hecklers during poetry performances in Chicago where the slam started 20 years ago. It is now a major phenomenon across North America. See: Saul Williams

Acronym for Standoff Land Attack Missile. This is a weapon adapted from the AGM-65 Harpoon - it is a small rocket/cruise missile with a television relay system in the nose and remote control capabilities. It was used to good effect in Operation Desert Storm by Allied aircrew; the CNN shots of weapon point-of-view rapidly approaching a target and then cutting to static were mostly from SLAMs. They carry a multi-hundred pound high explosive warhead and are dropped (and guided) from aircraft such as the F-18 Hornet and the A-6E Intruder. It can trace its lineage all the way back to the World War II German weapon Fritz-X, which was really the exact same system with more primitive components: a radio-guided, television-relay air-breathing missile dropped and controlled from an aircraft.

Term for the practice, illegal but common, wherein one long distance carrier has itself set up as your carrier instead of the one you chose. Someone just calls your local phone company pretending to be you and asks that the service be changed.

You can prevent this by requesting a "pick freeze" from your local company. That means that they will require written authorization from you before changing your carrier.

A card game, generally for two players although i have played it with three or four at a time (although you need two decks of cards for this). The two players sit opposite each other, and split the deck between themselves. The cards are dealt out like a solitaire game but with five piles;

d = face-down
u = face-up

 u  d  d  d  d
    u  d  d  d
       u  d  d
          u  d
             u
The remaining cards are placed in front of the player's left-most card, face-down. If any of the face-up cards are the same number, they can be put on top of each other. Once a card is moved from a pile, the card underneath can be turned, like solitaire. And as with solitaire, when a card is moved from an empty space, any card or piles of the same card can be moved onto the empty space. Once no more cards can be moved, both players put their left hand on the top hand of their pile and after 3, turn it and put it down to the right of their pile. Players put ajacent cards on the top card of either pile. If either player has a card they can put down, they must put it down, even if it means the other player will win the round. When both player have exhausted all their oppurtunities, they count to 3 and turn the top card again. Players cannot hold more than one card at once, but may use both hands to put cards on the piles. Once one player puts all their cards onto the piles, they have to put either hand directly onto the smaller of the two piles, and shout "slam". The other player can also "slam" the smaller pile if they are quick enough, but it will generally be the person who got rid of all their cards as they have the advantage. Once somebody has slammed a pile, both players take their respective piles and put them together with their remaining cards and their other pile. They shuffle the cards, and then set them up like the diagram again. If a player has less than 15 cards, they put them down according to the pattern assuming the cards are laid left to right, ie.

 u  u  u  u  u
as the first 5 cards, rather than

 u  d  d
    u  u
The player with less than 15 cards uses one of the other player's cards as his slam pile. When either player has gotten rid of all their cards and slams the empty smal pile, they have won. Some rules allow the players to pick up their cards when they have 5 or less in front of them. Other rules allow the player who gets rid of all their cards free to choose their pile in as much time as they want, rather than competing with the other player to get the smaller pile. This might be more fair, but it's less fun ;). With three players, you sit in a triangle, and the piles go inside the vertices. It is possible to play 3 player slam with one deck, but there will only be 2 cards in each pile, so the cards will be exhausted quickly.

In contract bridge, a contract of six or seven, requiring that the declarer take twelve or thirteen tricks.

A contract of six, which requires declarer to take twelve tricks, is called a "small slam", and earns a bonus of 500 points (not vulnerable), or 750 (vulnerable) if made.

A contract of seven, which requires declarer to take all thirteen tricks, is called a "grand slam", and earns a bonus of 1000 points (not vulnerable) or 1500 points (vulnerable) if made.

Slam (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Slammed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Slamming.] [Of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. slamra, slambra, sl&?;ma, Norw. slemba, slemma, dial. Sw. slämma.]

1.

To shut with force and a loud noise; to bang; as, he slammed the door.

2.

To put in or on some place with force and loud noise; -- usually with down; as, to slam a trunk down on the pavement.

3.

To strike with some implement with force; hence, to beat or cuff. [Prov. Eng.]

4.

To strike down; to slaughter. [Prov. Eng.]

5.

To defeat (opponents at cards) by winning all the tricks of a deal or a hand. Hoyle.

To slam to, to shut or close with a slam. "He slammed to the door." W. D. Howells.

 

© Webster 1913


Slam, v. i.

To come or swing against something, or to shut, with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise; as, a door or shutter slams.

 

© Webster 1913


Slam, n.

1.

The act of one who, or that which, slams.

2.

The shock and noise produced in slamming.

The slam and the scowl were lost upon Sam.
Dickens.

3. (Card Playing)

Winning all the tricks of a deal.

4.

The refuse of alum works. [Prov. Eng.]

 

© Webster 1913


Slam (?), n. (Card Playing)

Winning all the tricks of a deal (called, in bridge, grand slam, the winning of all but one of the thirteen tricks being called a little slam).

 

© Webster 1913

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