ham, n.² — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

ham n.²

[abbr. hamfatter, a second-rate and thus impoverished actor who was forced to rub hamfat over their face, as a base for the powder that was then applied, rather than being able to afford sweeter smelling oils; the Century Dict. (1889) suggests an origin in a black song ‘The Ham-Fat Man‘; hamfat was also used by old-time jazzmen to grease the slides of their trombones – thus the 1930s band The Harlem Hamfats; note U. of Missouri (in 1931) ham, ‘one of unpolished manners’ and Baker et al., College Undergraduate Slang Study (1967–8), ‘a person who always fools around’; note also 1939 ref. to a lard actor, ‘an early professional version of “ham actor”,’ in a Federal Writers’ Project essay on Vaudeville, suggesting that lard, rather than ‘hamfat’ was a substitute for cold cream as a basis for make-up]

1. an incompetent, esp. one who poses as more expert than his performance – often in sport – shows him to be.

1881		Daily L.A. Herald 13 Aug. 2/3: He would wither the peerless pair by calling them ‘jays’ [...] or ‘ranks,’ or perhaps ‘hams’.
1889		World (N.Y.) 15 Aug. 1/1: Why, you long, lean blankety blank blank . . . you ought to be strung up by the thumbs, you big, ugly ham.
1896		Ade Artie (1963) 19: Some o’ them was dead tough and the others was hams.
1907		D. Runyon ‘The Defence of Strikerville’ in From First To Last (1954) 13: You hams standing around with wrinkles in your bellies.
1918		‘Commander’ Clear the Decks! 131: ‘You poor ham,’ he laughed.
1925		S. Lewis Arrowsmith 36: All these other hams of profs, they’re simply witch-doctors.
1929		J. Lait Broadway Melody 4: He’s a hot song-plugger, Eddie is—tossing off that push-over tune on them hoofin’ hams.
1934		(con. 1920s) J.T. Farrell Young Manhood in Studs Lonigan (1936) 255: The ham’s guard dropped, and he whittled down to Studs’ size.
1942		W. Winchell ‘On Broadway’ 12 Mar. [synd. col.] A ham is a person who can’t get himself out of his mind.
1949		Wodehouse Mating Season 92: I gave it up. You can’t reason with hams.
1959		W. Burroughs Naked Lunch (1968) 109: Get out of my studio, you cheap four-flushing ham!
1967		L. Bruce Essential Lenny Bruce 108: You’d never expect that from a ham like me.
1976		P. Theroux Family Arsenal 140: Oh, do sit down and stop being such a ham.
1999		N. Cohn Yes We have No 189: I’m just an old ham.

2. (US) an incompetent boxer, a poor fighter.

1888		Missouri Republican 27 Mar. n.p.: Connelly... is a good fighter, but will allow the veriest ham to whip him, if there is any money to be made by it [F&H].
1915		Van Loan ‘On Account of a Lady’ in Taking the Count 137: ‘Some fight tomorrow night,’ said Split-tooth tentatively. ‘Those bigs hams [...] No chance – I could lick ’em myself.’.
1929		Sat. Eve. Post 14 Dec. 144/3: They want me to slug with this big ham [DA].
1930		R.E. Howard ‘Bull Dog Breed’ Fight Stories Feb. 🌐 If you was any part of a man, you big mick ham [...] you wouldn’t stand around and let a blankety-blank French so-on and so-forth lay out your captain.
1932		(con. 1910s) J.T. Farrell Young Lonigan in Studs Lonigan (1936) 115: He told of what he had seen at the [...] Willard-Moran fights. He said Willard was a ham.

3. an over-theatrical or incompetent performer.

1879		Cincinnati Enquirer 7 Sept. 10/7: Ham—Is the most derisive word in the professional vocabulary, and if you wish to lose the friendship of any one in the business call him a ‘ham,’ and that settles it. A person who can do nothing at all, can not speak his lines properly, or is very bad in any way in his calling, is denominated a ‘ham.’.
1882		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 18 Mar. 2/3: The small-fry actors and variety ‘hams’.
1899–1900		C.L. Cullen Tales of the Ex-Tanks 132: I can tell a ham two miles away in a valley without a pince-niz.
1905		Sporting Times 18 Mar. 1/5: Say, you gah-dam ham, you’ve had a month’s run here an’ never got a hand.
1911		T.A. Dorgan ‘Daffydills’ in El Paso Herald (TX) 8 Sept. 8: Ima Ham the Persian tragedian.
1928		J. Callahan Man’s Grim Justice 142: She was nothing more than a ham of the worst sort.
1938		W. Winchell ‘On Broadway’ 18 Mar. [synd. col.] ‘He’s such a ham – he bathes in mustard.’.
1944		J.T. Farrell To Whom It May Concern 21: I don’t like actors. They are all hams.
1953		R. Chandler Long Good-Bye 151: Dear God, what a ham you are, darling. Stop acting like a damn fool, will you, darling?
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 63: smoked ham (black gay sl) black public figure, especially in entertainment.
1984		C. White Life and Times of Little Richard 58: Richard’s like any other ham.
1997		C. Hiaasen Lucky You 162: She was also a ham. Dick Turnquist expected Mary Andrea would get the first plane for Florida, to play the irresistible role of grief-stricken widow.
2002		LaHaye & Blackstock Season of Blessing 16: It’s just that he’s such a ham. He’s a terrible show-off.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 328: ‘He’s a stage ham, but he’s very insecure’.

4. (US) an inexpert or over-theatrical performance.

1942

R. Chandler High Window 183: ‘Look, angel,’ Morny snarled. ‘Don’t feed me the ham. I’ve been in pictures. I’m a connoisseur of ham.’.

In compounds

ham-slinger (n.)

(US) a second-rate actor.

1930

M. Bodenheim Naked on Roller Skates 192: She picked up this ham slinger.

ham n.2

In compounds

ham n.²