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Picture of Kalleh
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I read an article that mentioned a ball player's "ham-handed challenges" to his team. I hadn't heard the term before, but I am sure many of you have? One definition was "clumsy" or "inept," both of which fit. Apparently "hamfistedness" is chiefly British.

Do you use the phrase?
 
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Picture of arnie
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I've only ever come across "ham-fisted" before. It's fairly common here.


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
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Picture of Kalleh
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arnie, does it mean "inept?" I don't see what "ham" has to do with ineptness or clumsiness, I guess.
 
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Picture of BobHale
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It's only a guess but I'd guess that it refers to your hands being as big and as manoevreable as a ham.


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
 
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Picture of arnie
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I agree with Bob. The phrase is rather more recent than I'd imagined, though. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary
quote:
Ham-fisted (1928) was originally in reference to pilots who were heavy on the controls, as was ham-handed (by 1918).


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
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Picture of Kalleh
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We of course use "ham" to denote overacting in theatre, but I've not heard it used as "ham-handed." That origin makes sense, Bob.
 
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<Proofreader>
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I believe ham-handed derives from the duties of Hormel meat packers.
 
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