subs. phr. (old).—See quot. 1864. Hence QUI-TAM HORSE = ‘one that will both carry and draw’ (GROSE, 1785).
1782. G. PARKER, Humorous Sketches, 189. A lawyer [speaks of] John Doe and Richard Roe, terms; vacations, QUITAMS, processes and executions.
1843. W. T. MONCRIEFF, The Scamps of London, ii. 2. The QUITAM LAWYER, the quack doctor.
1864. HOTTEN, The Slang Dictionary, s.v. QUI-TAM, a solicitor. He who, i.e., “he who, as much for himself as for the King,” seeks a conviction, the penalty for which goes half to the informer and half to the Crown. The term would, therefore, with greater propriety, be applied to a spy than to a solicitor.
