Most commonly found in Ireland, but developing a popular growth amongst the U.K, the term places immediate reference to the dichotomy found in youth culture - between the shams and the moshers.

Whilst moshers listen to metal music and wear band shirts, keep to themselves and often have long hair, shams like hip hop and rap, wear white sports brand or designer clothes and like to cause trouble.

Shams believe they are adonises and carry themselves with an instantly recognisable gait, likened to that of a pidgeon, in which the shoulders move prominently with each step.

Shams (esp. in Galway and Cork) have a very strong and unique accent, and even a dialect.
Utilising words such as "mace" for "steal" and "beur" for girl they speak with a very nasal and somewhat whiny tone.

Many shams believe they are gangster and indeed some, albeit very few, are. Most try to pass it off in a haze of puffy coats, spoken threats and supposedly impressive references to "fiddy" who was "shat niine tyymz".

Shams take personal pride in being a sham, despite everyone else viewing them with contempt and disregard for their borish and antisocial behavior, and they flaunt their unfortunate vernacular and walk as one would an expensive watch.

They usually dont travel alone but move in groups of 2 or 3 or more, praying on people who are alone to antagonise and bully them. To teens without experience this can indeed be threatening and scary, but once past a certain age they realise what a load of shit shams really are, and once stood up to, the shams will back away.

Shams should be viewed with caution and never approached, but should not be feared.

Irish slang (mostly used in the southern County of Cork, famous for its plethora of slang terms)

a "sham" is primarily the term used to describe a young male knacker, specifically the ones who walk around with a chip on thier shoulder, thinking they own everything in sight, and that they are the greatest thing on god's green earth

it can also be used to show genuine praise, much to the same affect as "the shit".

Originally used in the U.S. Army to describe the act of pretending to work in order to avoid actually working.

Irish slag
A resident of Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland.
Also, a word frequently used by residents of above town, usually meaning the same as American term "dude".

Something false used to deceive people; often used to steal money.

Sham is generally used in Ireland, it is almost the Irish equivalent of the British Chav.

Sham's are rare bucks hey. Generally seen out at the disco steaming. They can be seen during the week diffing on the roads like the mad header shams that them thar bucks are.

The mating call of a sham is a sham-flick. A sham-flick is when you wave your hand around like a mad cunt while clicking your fingers. This is deemed to be more skillful to shams than any other art form.

noun. A male. Especially a member of the working class. Similar in meaning to the UK word chav. Often used by the working class to refer to eachother.