Green’s Dictionary of Slang

hames n.

In phrases

make a hames (v.) (also make a haimes) [SE hames, the two pieces of metal placed on each side of a horse’s collar; the image is of mistakenly putting these on upside down]

(Irish) to bungle, to make a mess.

1939		‘Flann O’Brien’ At Swim-Two-Birds 30: I started to puke and I puked till the eyes nearly left my head. I made a right haimes of my suit.
c.1940–5		‘Myles na gCopaleen’ Best of Myles (1968) 351: I have to laugh when I think of how near we went to making a hames of the whole thing.
1969		P. Boyle All Looks Yellow to the Jaundiced Eye 36: ‘He’s making a hames of the party,’ grumbled Dick.
1971		Dublin Mag. IX 56: I’d have been bound to have made a hames of the rescueing or whatever it was.
1989		R.E. Tangney Other Days Around Me 133: This was a good start: my first salaried job and I was making a hames of it.
1995		RTÉ TV Farrell 28 May He made a dreadful hames of things [BS].
2001		G. Coughlan Everyday Eng. and Sl. 🌐 Hames (n): a mess – ‘He made a right hames of the job.’.
2010		K. Gold His Best Mistake 110: I knew right then you’d made a hames out of a relationship with some woman.
2015		L. McInerney Glorious Heresies 114: ‘It’s not you making a hames of clean living’.