An appropriate response to a request for anything a person may in fact have but that the person is unwilling to surrender to the person making the request. For example, when walking along the Plaza in Arcata one is frequently asked for change by the many individuals who reside temporarily in and around said city. Mamshmam is a brief response that eliminates the need for dishonesty, disrespect, or awkward fumblings and aimless or empty perorations of shared poverty. It may also function as an effective tool for students, many of whom live in the city as they attend Humboldt State University, to avoid extensive molestation as they maneuver the orderly grid of the beautiful bay city. The word works by the apparent nonsensical mumblings that it appears to be; strangers assume that you are just as crazy as some of the other people within earshot and kind of step cautiously to the side to let you pass.
*This is also the username of an exceptionally talented claymation artist whose work you may view on YouTube.
