It is a
Scottish word exactly similar to nutjob or bampot - person displaying wild and violent behaviour which is often irrational and beyond what the situation should call for.
The word bamstick is
now archaic and is rarely heard these days, perhaps still used by some old pensioners. It is often now shortened to "bam".
It came from a
time when working class
people in the housing schemes mostly in Glasgow in
Scotland would attempt at all times to be perceived as being "hard" - a bit like the latin machismo.
The ultimate state to be reached in hardness was to be completely mental - you would be more violent and irrational than everyone else -
people would then say "he's a complete bamstick".
The bamstick himself would often exclaim such things as "I'm pure mental", "I'm mad mental wullie frae the winey" (winey being wine alley in Govan).
Most of the similar terms as shown above for a bamstick were never used in this way- especially not "asshole" which is american for arsehole". One would never call a bamstick an arsehole or any similar
words unless well out of earshot.
