AICM

Chat room abbreviation of "And I Claim My insert payment" used when the responder gives a definitive answer in a thread. Normally in the form of "UR .... AICM £5" which is an abbreviation of "you are ..... and I claim my £5" when speculating on the identity of a poster. This started during the press circulation wars of the 20s and 30s with summer publicity campaigns by the Westminster Gazette (from 1927) and News Chronicle (mid-30s). A fuzzy photo of "Lobby Lud" (really a lowly newspaper employee) was printed in the paper along with the seaside resort where he would be that day. If you recognized him you could win ten pounds by producing a copy of the newspaper and saying, "You are Mr. Lobby Lud, I claim the Gazette Prize." After the war the Daily Mirror copied the campaign, but changed the phrase to "... and I claim my five pounds". A jokey/sarcastic/downright nasty appraisal of a fellow frumite's "real identity" based on the opinions expressed in their preceding post.